Does host plant quality constrain the performance of the Parthenium beetle Zygogramma bicolorata?

This study assessed the influence of high, medium and low host plant quality, as influenced by fertiliser application, on the survival, development and fecundity of Z. bicolorata. Although egg to adult survival was high (∼80%) and did not differ between plant quality treatments, larvae developed fastest on plants of high and medium quality. Larval feeding was highly damaging, reducing the growth, reproduction and biomass of P. hysterophorus in all three plant quality treatments. Fecundity was associated with plant quality, with larger, more fecund females developing on higher quality plants. Overall, this research may aid current mass-rearing efforts, further field research to verify these findings and direct the selection of more suitable release sites for Z. bicolorata in South Africa.Graphical abstract
Source: Biological Control - Category: Biology Source Type: research