Soybean Foliage Consumption Reduces Adult Western Corn Rootworm (Diabrotica virgifera virgifera)(Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) Survival and Stimulates Flight

Western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte, biology is tied to the continuous availability of its host (corn, Zea mays L.). Annual rotation of corn with a nonhost, like soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) was a reliable tactic to manage western corn rootworm. Behavioral resistance...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of economic entomology 2021-12, Vol.114 (6), p.2390-2399
Main Authors: Spencer, Joseph L, Mabry, Timothy R, Levine, Eli, Isard, Scott A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation, Physiological
Agricultural pests
Agricultural practices
Animals
Beetles
behavioral resistance
Coleoptera
Coleoptera - genetics
Consumption data
Corn
Corn belt
Crop rotation
Cropping systems
Diabrotica virgifera virgifera
Diet
FIELD AND FORAGE CROPS
Flight
Foliage
Glycine max
Herbivory
Intestinal microflora
Laboratories
Larva
Leaves
Microbiota
Mortality
Plants, Genetically Modified
Proteases
Soybean
Soybeans
Survival
Vegetables
wind tunnel
Wind tunnels
Zea mays
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Summary:Western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte, biology is tied to the continuous availability of its host (corn, Zea mays L.). Annual rotation of corn with a nonhost, like soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) was a reliable tactic to manage western corn rootworm. Behavioral resistance to annual crop rotation (rotation resistance) allowed some eastern U.S. Corn Belt populations to circumvent rotation by laying eggs in soybean and in cornfields. When active in soybean, rotation-resistant adults commonly consume foliage, in spite of detrimental effects on beetle survival. Rotation-resistant beetle activity in soybean is enabled by the expression of certain proteinases and an adapted gut microbiota that provide limited protection from soybean antiherbivore defenses. We investigated the effects of corn and soybean herbivory on rotation-resistant female survival and initiation of flight using mortality assays and wind tunnel flight tests. Among field-collected females tested with mortality assays, beetles from collection sites in a cornfield survived longer than those from collection sites in a soybean field. However, reduced survival due to soybean herbivory could be restored by consuming corn tissues. Field-collected beetles that fed on a soybean tissue laboratory diet or only water were more likely to fly in a wind tunnel than corn-feeding beetles. Regardless of collection site and laboratory diet, 90.5% of beetles that flew oriented their flights upwind. Diet-related changes in the probability of flight provide a proximate mechanism for interfield movement that facilitates restorative feeding and the survival of females previously engaged in soybean herbivory. Graphical Abstract Rotation-resistant western corn rootworm females feeding on soybean tissues experience reduced survival in mortality assays and display increased flight probability (which may facilitate flight back to a cornfield where consumption of host tissues improves survival potential and facilitates maturation of eggs). The consequences of soybean herbivory provide a proximal mechanism for behavioral resistance to crop rotation. Increased egg-laying probability while feeding on soybean tissues, facilitation of egg maturation while feeding on corn tissues, and interfield movement are previously documented consequences.
ISSN:0022-0493
1938-291X
DOI:10.1093/jee/toab167