Ovipositional preferences and larval performances of two populations of Indianmeal moth, Plodia interpunctella

Abstract

Oviposition decisions by female insects can determine the survival and fitness of their offspring. In this study, we assessed the larval performance and adult oviposition preferences of two populations of the Indianmeal moth, Plodia interpunctella (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), one a long‐term laboratory colony and another recently collected from the field. Development assays on a variety of foods were conducted on individual larvae in small shell vials, and data were collected for survival (percent), development time (days), and adult weight (mg). Larvae from both populations did not survive on ground walnut, pecan, coriander, and fennel. There were significant differences in larval survival on laboratory diet, chick pea, and soybean between the two populations. Development times were the longest on prunes and barley. Mean adult weights were the highest on chick pea, laboratory diet, and soybean for the laboratory moths whereas soybean and chick pea were very suitable for the field moths. Overall, field moths weighed significantly less than the laboratory moths. Adult ovipositional preferences were assessed in no‐choice and four‐choice oviposition bioassays in plastic boxes containing diets differing in quality. In a no‐choice situation, the numbers of eggs laid by laboratory moths on soybean, apricots, and wheat were not significantly different. Field moths laid significantly greater numbers of eggs on soybean, and those numbers were similar to those laid on barley. In four‐choice bioassays, laboratory moths oviposited in diets previously determined to be unsuitable for their progeny survival. Field moths were more selective and laid significantly greater numbers of eggs on soybean than in dishes containing barley, coriander, or an empty dish. Our studies clearly showed that laboratory colonization of Plodia interpunctella for long periods can alter the behavioral patterns of immatures and adults.

Oviposition by Female Plodia interpunctella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae): Description and Time Budget Analysis of Behaviors in Laboratory Studies

“…from P. interpunctella females. Nevertheless, P. interpunctella has similar ovipositional preferences for a variety of foods [ 15 , 16 ], so we can expect that the general patterns of oviposition behavior will be similar to what we have described here, irrespective of the type of food. We used different amounts and particle sizes of soybean in our three studies rather than consistently using the same size of food pieces.…”

“…Direct lighting as well as light reflected off the white paper facilitated observations of oviposition behaviors within the dish. Soybean was used because an earlier study showed that soybean was a good larval food source that elicited an optimal ovipositional response from adult P. interpunctella females [ 15 ].…”

“…Biotic and abiotic factors influence host selection and oviposition by the female P. interpunctella . For example, conspecific [ 10 ] and host-related factors [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ] play key roles in eliciting upwind flight, landing, and egg-laying behaviors from gravid females. Optimal ovipositional response is elicited only when a female comes into contact with the host surface [ 16 ].…”

Determining Host Suitability of Pecan for Stored-Product Insects

“…Low numbers of adult P. interpunctella recovered throughout the later intervals of the experiment may possibly be attributed to the brittle adult corpses being destroyed by larval competition, wanderingstage activity, web-production of subsequent caterpillar generations, crowding, or cannibalism within the conÞnes of jars (Benson 1973, Briggs et al 2000. In addition, low adult numbers may be because of the pecan "meal" produced by feeding being of inadequate size to complete reproduction in P. interpunctella (Sambaraju and Phillips 2008).…”

Evaluation of contamination of packages containing cereal-fruit bars by eggs of the pest Indian meal moth (Plodia interpunctella, Lepidoptera) due to perforations in their polypropylene foil packaging

“…In addition to the odour component of food source, there is evidence that tactile and gustatory qualities are also important for oviposition stimulation (Mowery et al 2002;Nansen and Phillips 2003). It has previously been shown that females are able to discriminate between individual odour stimuli (Nansen and Phillips 2003;Sambaraju and Phillips 2008), and that cereal products, nuts and dried fruits are among the most attractive food products for P. interpunctella (Mohandass et al 2007). For this reason, it is not surprising that unpacked cereal-fruit bars stimulated females to an oviposition, as in the no-choice test the vast majority ([ 98%) of eggs laid by females were placed on the bar and only small fraction was placed on the floor.…”