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Nutritional resources used by the invasive maize pest Diabrotica virgifera virgifera in its new South‐east‐European distribution range
Author(s) -
Moeser Joachim,
Vidal Stefan
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
entomologia experimentalis et applicata
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.765
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1570-7458
pISSN - 0013-8703
DOI - 10.1111/j.0013-8703.2005.00228.x
Subject(s) - biology , western corn rootworm , pollen , pest analysis , agronomy , weed , abundance (ecology) , phenology , range (aeronautics) , invasive species , poaceae , zea mays , botany , ecology , materials science , composite material
Food utilization by adults of the invasive maize ( Zea mays L.) (Poaceae) pest western corn rootworm (WCR; Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) was investigated in the south‐eastern part of its new European distribution range. At weekly intervals over a 10‐week period, 10 beetles per field were collected from six fields that had a high abundance of flowering weeds and six fields with a low abundance of flowering weeds, with the aim of understanding adult feeding behaviour in Europe and comparing this behaviour with North American WCR. Gut content analysis was performed to determine the use of maize tissue and weed pollen with regard to maize phenology. Furthermore, all pollen found within the gut was quantified and identified to plant species level. The use of maize tissue by adult WCR changed over time according to maize phenology. Pollen originating from plants other than maize was used more frequently as the maize matured. Adults fed on pollen from 19 of 25 different plant species found in maize fields and showed a preference for the pollen of specific weeds. Pollen from weed species was found more often in beetles from fields with a high abundance of weeds compared to beetles from fields with a low abundance of weeds. Females consumed greater amounts of pollen than males, the latter feeding on a wider diversity of host plants. The pollen resources used by adult WCR in Hungary were more diverse compared to WCR in the USA, which may contribute to the invasion success of WCR in Europe.