A comparison of food-related behaviour between geographic populations of the Colorado potato beetle (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae), on six solanaceous plant species
1993
Szentesi, A. | Jermy, T.
Some components of the food-related behaviour (biting, feeding, walking on the plant or walking elsewhere, and resting) of two North American and three European Colorado potato beetle (CPB) populations, on six solanaceous plant species were monitored with the help of a microcomputer-based program, testing the hypothesis whether populations showed differences at the behavioural level to alternative host plants (S. melongena, S. dulcamara, and Lycopersicon esculentum), as well as to non-host plants occasionally encountered (S. luteum, S. nigrum). The few significant differences found were among populations of the same continent in 1) the number of activities monitored, 2) the duration of feeding periods, 3) the number of bites taken to the onset of feeding, 4) the ‘amount of behavioural plasticity', and 5) the ‘behavioural diversity'. On the basis of two-way ANOVA analyses, no plant-by-population interactions were detected indicating that the CPB populations studied did not have specific relationships with any of the plant species tested. The lack of substantial differences in food-related behaviour was unexpected since considerable isolation in space and time exists between the populations occurring on the two continents.
Show more [+] Less [-]AGROVOC Keywords
Bibliographic information
This bibliographic record has been provided by National Agricultural Library