Effects of different host plants on the development and reproduction of Yellow Peach Moth, C onogethes punctiferalis ( Guenée, 1854) ( Lepidoptera: Crambidae).

In order to determine the effects of different host plants on the fitness and performance of the Yellow Peach Moth, C onogethes punctiferalis ( Guenée, 1854), experiments were carried out to test the developmental duration and reproduction of C o. punctiferalis by feeding larvae with chestnut C astanea mollissima, maize Z ea mays, plum P runus salicina, apple M alus pumila, pear P yrus sorotina and peach P runus persica. The results showed that there were significant differences in developmental duration and reproduction among C o. punctiferalis groups fed on different host plants. The longest larval duration was observed for groups fed on plum and apple (35.63 and 35.55 days, respectively). In contrast, the shortest was for larvae fed on maize and chestnut (21.61 and 21.77 days, respectively). Larval survival of C o. punctiferalis was lowest on plum (24.1%) and highest on maize (80.0%). Adult females developed from the larvae fed on chestnut and maize laid significantly more eggs (averagely 141.8 and 133.5 eggs per female, respectively) than those fed on the other four host plants. Analysis of life-table parameters indicated that C o. punctiferalis larvae fed on chestnut and maize had better performance than those larvae fed on plum, apple, pear and peach. These findings may aid our understanding of the population dynamics of C o. punctiferalis on different host plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]