Monday, 15 November 2004
D0064

Differentiation of two strains of western corn rootworm (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) using a behavioral bioassay

Lisa M. Knolhoff, lknolhof@uiuc.edu1, David W. Onstad, onstad@uiuc.edu2, Eli Levine, levinee@uiuc.edu3, and Joseph L. Spencer, spencer1@uiuc.edu3. (1) University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Entomology, Urbana, IL, (2) University of Illinois, Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Sciences, Urbana, IL, (3) Illinois Natural History Survey, Center for Economic Entomology, Champaign, IL

The western corn rootworm (WCR), Diabrotica virgifera virgifera, has been able to circumvent crop rotation in east-central Illinois and northern Indiana. Females oviposit in soybean fields that will be planted to corn the following spring. Separation of the wild type and rotation resistant phenotypes is important to understanding the genetic basis of this selection and to determine which areas will be most susceptible to damage by rotation resistant WCR. This study examined female movement as a means to separate the two phenotypes. A previous study had suggested that response to a pyrethroid insecticide would elicit a difference in behavior, but we found that activity levels were different with no stimulus. Beetles from the rotation resistant population were more active, which may be driving them to leave natal cornfields to oviposit in soybean fields. Results will be reported for two summers’ work on a behavioral bioassay to differentiate rotation resistant beetles from the wild type.


Species 1: Coleoptera Chrysomelidae Diabrotica virgifera virgifera (western corn rootworm)
Keywords: behavior, crop rotation

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