Nutrition of Plant‐sucking Insects on Chemically Defined Diets

Abstract

With the advent of suitable techniques for rearing plant-sucking insects, especially aphids, on chemically defined diets, knowledge of their nutrition has evolved considerably over the past 7 years. Thus, contrary to some earlier beliefs, the nutritional requirements of plantsucking insects have been found to be, with minor exceptions, generally similar to those of other insects, and it is now possible to sustain aphid colonies on artificial diets for two or more generations, and in some cases, for an almost indefinite period of time.A discussion is presented on the comparative requirements of aphids and other Hemiptera for the main classes of nutrients and for individual compounds, both on a qualitative and quantitative basis, and on the relative importance of symbiotes in the nutrition and metabolism of these insects. Some nutritional and related factors that may influence feeding behaviour will be examined, such as the influence of the pH of the medium, the light, the quality of the diet and the concentration of certain nutrients on feeding preferences by aphids. Correlations will be attempted on the significance of these findings in relation to parasite-hostplant relationships.The main subject of the entire paper will be centered on the nutrition of about half a dozen species of aphids, but some examples will be given using other plant-sucking insects.

Plant cues for aphid navigation in vascular tissues

“…The fact that, in previous experiments, sucrose was the most suitable carbohydrate substrate for aphid growth and propagation suggested that sucrose is an important cue for aphid orientation (Auclair, 1963;Auclair, 1969;Mittler and Dadd, 1964;Kimmins, 1982). Previous choice-chamber experiments (Mittler and Dadd, 1964) using M. persicae showed a distinct preference for sucrose solutions in comparison with amino acid or control solutions.…”

“…According to a long-standing hypothesis (Auclair, 1969), aphids seem to employ information from punctured plant cells along the stylet pathway for sieve-tube recognition by sensing the high sugar content and slightly alkaline pH values characteristic of sieve-tube sap.…”

An aphid's Odyssey – the cortical quest for the vascular bundle

“…Auclair, 1963;Auclair, 1969;Mittler and Dadd, 1963;Simpson et al, 1995) have demonstrated that aphids perform best on diets that mimic the sucrose and pH composition of sieve-tube sap (pH values of approximately 7.0 and a high concentration of sucrose). A preference for similar diets in choice chambers (Mittler and Dadd, 1964;Hewer et al, 2010) indicates that aphids have the sensory means to identify sieve tubes in plant tissues (Hewer et al, 2010).…”

Influence of Host Plant Species and Flush Growth Stage on the Asian Citrus Psyllid, <i>Diaphorina citri</i> Kuwayama

“…Similar outcomes occur when nymphs develop on less-favored alternate host plants (Moran, 1968). In aphids amino acid concentrations are known to influence growth and reproduction (Auclair, 1969). It is very probable that the immature stages may have high demands for protein and that protein starvation contributed to the nymphal mortality.…”