Plant quantity affects development and reproduction of a gregarious butterfly more than plant quality

TY - JOUR

T1 - Plant quantity affects development and reproduction of a gregarious butterfly more than plant quality

AU - Gols, Rieta

AU - Croijmans, Luuk

AU - Dicke, Marcel

AU - van Loon, Joop J.A.

AU - Harvey, Jeffrey A

N1 - 7448, TE

PY - 2022

Y1 - 2022

N2 - The larvae of insect herbivores feed on plants that may vary nutritionally (qualitatively and/or quantitatively) over the course of insect development. Plant quality may change in response to interactions with the biotic environment that in turn may affect development and biomass of the insects feeding on these plants. However, the larvae of many gregariously feeding herbivores feed on comparatively small plants with limited biomass and may also experience variation in the quantity of plant food available. Pieris brassicae L. (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) is a gregarious butterfly species laying clutches of 10–150 eggs that are often laid on small brassicaceous food plants, including the plant used in this study, Brassica nigra L. (Brassicaceae). A single B. nigra plant provides insufficient resources for the development of an entire brood of P. brassicae. In this study, we investigated the effect of both plant quality and quantity on the performance of P. brassicae when feeding on B. nigra plants. When we compared the effects of changes in plant quality induced by (1) aphid infestation, (2) exposure to pathogenic and non-pathogenic bacteria, and (3) inbreeding depression, which are all biotic stresses known to change plant quality, pupal mass and larval development time of P. brassicae were fairly similar. We then examined the effects of quantitative food constraints during immature development on pupal mass, which correlated strongly with adult size, longevity, and fecundity. Female pupal mass, longevity and fecundity were negatively correlated with the duration of starvation during larval development. No significant effect of male starvation was found on female reproduction and longevity. Thus, P. brassicae larvae were more affected by quantitative than by qualitative constraints in terms of pupal mass, which strongly correlated with female reproduction.

AB - The larvae of insect herbivores feed on plants that may vary nutritionally (qualitatively and/or quantitatively) over the course of insect development. Plant quality may change in response to interactions with the biotic environment that in turn may affect development and biomass of the insects feeding on these plants. However, the larvae of many gregariously feeding herbivores feed on comparatively small plants with limited biomass and may also experience variation in the quantity of plant food available. Pieris brassicae L. (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) is a gregarious butterfly species laying clutches of 10–150 eggs that are often laid on small brassicaceous food plants, including the plant used in this study, Brassica nigra L. (Brassicaceae). A single B. nigra plant provides insufficient resources for the development of an entire brood of P. brassicae. In this study, we investigated the effect of both plant quality and quantity on the performance of P. brassicae when feeding on B. nigra plants. When we compared the effects of changes in plant quality induced by (1) aphid infestation, (2) exposure to pathogenic and non-pathogenic bacteria, and (3) inbreeding depression, which are all biotic stresses known to change plant quality, pupal mass and larval development time of P. brassicae were fairly similar. We then examined the effects of quantitative food constraints during immature development on pupal mass, which correlated strongly with adult size, longevity, and fecundity. Female pupal mass, longevity and fecundity were negatively correlated with the duration of starvation during larval development. No significant effect of male starvation was found on female reproduction and longevity. Thus, P. brassicae larvae were more affected by quantitative than by qualitative constraints in terms of pupal mass, which strongly correlated with female reproduction.

KW - Brassica nigra

KW - Brassicaceae

KW - defence induction

KW - feeding constraints

KW - insect herbivores

KW - insect-plant interactions

KW - Lepidoptera

KW - Pieridae

KW - Pieris brassicae

KW - plant nutritional quality

KW - plant stress

KW - reproduction

U2 - 10.1111/eea.13192

DO - 10.1111/eea.13192

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85130787756

SN - 0013-8703

VL - 170

SP - 646

EP - 655

JO - Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata

JF - Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata

IS - 8

ER -