Cut to Disarm Plant Defence: A Unique Oviposition Behaviour in Rhynchites foveipennis (Coleoptera: Attelabidae).

ABSTRACT: Female weevils of the family Attelabidae (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea) possess a unique behaviour of partially cutting the branches connecting egg-bearing organs of their host plants during oviposition. However, the consequence of such behaviour remains unclear. Using Rhynchites foveipennis and its host pear (Pyrus pyrifolia), the present study tested the hypothesis that the oviposition behaviour could disarm the host plants' defence. We compared the survival rates, growth rates, and performance of eggs and larvae under two conditions: (1) the fruit stems were naturally damaged by the females before and after oviposition, and (2) the fruit stems were artificially protected from the females. When fruit stems were protected from female damage, the survival rates of eggs and larv

SUBMITTER: Zhang ZY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9965434 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature