Arthropod-Plant Interactions最新文献

{"title":"Experimental florivory and its effects on pollinators of Opuntia cantabrigiensis Lynch (Cactaceae)","authors":"Diana Cárdenas-Ramos,&nbsp;María C. Mandujano","doi":"10.1007/s11829-025-10131-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11829-025-10131-7","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Florivores modify the attributes of flowers while feeding, that affects the behavior and frequency of pollinators that visit flowers and setting of fruits and seed as a result of low pollen deposition. We determined the effect of experimental florivory on pollinators visitations, fruit-set, and seed-set of <i>Opuntia cantabrigiensis</i>. Four treatments were applied on intact flowers during reproductive season: 1) removal of 50% of the perianth, 2) emasculated flower, 3) flower without stigma, perianth and stamens (stigma-perianth) and 4) intact flower-control; selected treatments mimic the types of florivory observed in the population. The frequency of visitation, activity and taxonomic identity of the pollinator were recorded. We found that frequency of pollinators decreased with damage to the flower, with the stigma-perianth treatment receiving the fewest visits. The most frequent pollinators were the solitary bees <i>Macrotera sinaloana</i>, <i>Diadasia rinconis</i>, and <i>Lithurgopsis apicalis</i> (Hymenoptera) that collect rewards and perch on the stigma of flowers. Pollinators responded differently to florivory; <i>Ashmeadiella opuntiae</i> avoided flowers with perianth damage, possibly associating it with a lack of rewards, while <i>D</i>. <i>rinconis</i> prefered such flowers, the removal of this structure facilitated access to floral rewards. Flowers in the stigma-perianth treatment produced seedless fruit. Intact flowers had higher seed production than those with perianth damage or emasculation due to low pollinator visitation and pollen deposition. <i>Opuntia cantabrigiensis</i> is a xenogamous species with dependence on biotic vectors, therefore the damage caused by florivores reduces the visit of their pollinators and its reproductive success, which could negatively affect the population persistence.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8409,"journal":{"name":"Arthropod-Plant Interactions","volume":"19 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11829-025-10131-7.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143388694","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Changes in floral traits and higher reproductive success after management in Cereus jamacaru, a cactus endemic to Brazil and obligatorily cross-pollinated by Sphingids","authors":"Ailza Maria de Lima-Nascimento,&nbsp;Jéssica Luiza S. Silva,&nbsp;Ulysses Paulino Albuquerque,&nbsp;Ariadna Valentina Lopes","doi":"10.1007/s11829-025-10133-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11829-025-10133-5","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Pollination is a key component for plant reproduction and maintenance and can be directly altered by anthropogenic disturbances, such as traditional plant management. Plant management causes changes in several floral and reproductive traits, including floral morphology, number of reproductive structures, and reproductive success. We investigated floral morphology, pollination biology and ecology, and quantified measures of investment in male function (i.e., amount of pollen/anther, pollen/flower, and pollen viability); female function and reproductive success (i.e., number of ovules/ovary, fruit set, and seed set) of managed and unmanaged <i>Cereus jamacaru</i> DC. (Cactaceae) individuals in the Caatinga. For this purpose, we conducted observations, pollination experiments and analysed flower buds, flowers and fruits. We observed that managed individuals exhibited flowers with greater a) corolla area (64%), b) corolla diameter (30%) and c) floral tube length (16%), d) herkogamy (i.e., stigma-anther distance; 600%), e) number of ovules (16%) f) pollen/flower (7.1%), fruit set (133%) and seed set (49%) in relation to the unmanaged population. The flowers of the managed population were visited exclusively by <i>Manduca rustica</i> and those of the unmanaged population by <i>M. paphus</i>. Our findings reveal that traditional management favours <i>C. jamacaru</i> individuals in the Caatinga dry forest. Furthermore, pollination by species of Sphingids exclusive to each population, together with herkogamy, can act as a barrier to pollen/gene flow between managed and unmanaged individuals. Thus, traditional management may not be able to maintain <i>C. jamacaru</i> populations in the Caatinga, as well as its associated fauna, i.e., pollinating and dispersing animals.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8409,"journal":{"name":"Arthropod-Plant Interactions","volume":"19 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143388812","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comparative seasonal plant diversity and leaf foraging pattern of leafcutter bees (Megachilidae: Hymenoptera) in urban, semi-urban and agricultural areas of Eastern India","authors":"Kaushik Pramanik,&nbsp;Amit Layek,&nbsp;Naduvilthara U. Visakh,&nbsp;Shantanu Jha","doi":"10.1007/s11829-025-10134-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11829-025-10134-4","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The leafcutter bees, <i>Megachile</i> spp. (Megachilidae: Hymenoptera) serve as a significant pollinator in ecological systems. They collect leaf discs to enclose their brood cells. Nevertheless, our current understanding of using plants as nesting resources in various ecosystems in different seasons, essential for their conservation, needs to be improved. The seasonal and landscape-level alterations have significant impacts on leafcutter bees, influencing species richness, abundance, community composition and leaf foraging behaviour. This study underscores the critical role of different seasons and landscape characteristics in shaping the leaf-foraging behaviour of leafcutter bees. We noted that semi-urban areas (151 different plant species recorded with cut leaves), with their greater landscape heterogeneity and high-quality habitats, supported higher species richness and abundance of leafcutter bees. In contrast, fully urban (49 different plant species recorded with cut leaves) and intensively agricultural landscapes (85 different plant species recorded with cut leaves) posed challenges to the survival of these bees due to habitat loss and fragmentation. We also found that during early autumn, leafcutter bees emerged and constructed ephemeral nests, intensifying leaf-cutting behaviour, whereas the summer and monsoon seasons exhibited a heightened activity, with bees building seasonal nests and gathering leaf and other essential resources extensively. In winter, leafcutting ceased as these bees entered into dormant conditions, seeking shelter in their nests for insulation and protection. This study provides valuable insights into the foraging patterns and habitat preferences in different seasons of leafcutter bees, contributing to the broader understanding of pollinator ecology in changing landscapes and environments.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8409,"journal":{"name":"Arthropod-Plant Interactions","volume":"19 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143388813","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Direct defense of Solanum lycopersicum L. to Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae) mediated by plant morphological and chemical traits","authors":"Rafaela Montagna Terenciano,&nbsp;Thyago Lima da Silva,&nbsp;Cristina Schetino Bastos,&nbsp;Flávio Lemes Fernandes,&nbsp;Jaqueline Pereira Dias,&nbsp;Maria Elisa de Sena Fernandes","doi":"10.1007/s11829-025-10132-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11829-025-10132-6","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p><i>Tetranychus urticae</i> is an economically important pest in many crops, such as cotton, soybean, beans, and tomato. The polyphagous behavior of this mite allows it to adapt to resistant hosts within a few generations. Here, we evaluated the resistance of tomato accessions to <i>T. urticae</i> through choice and no-choice trials, identified traits linked to resistance, and found candidate accessions for gene introgression in susceptible plants. In the choice trial, sixty-two accessions of <i>S. lycopersicon</i> from the Horticultural Germplasm Bank (HGB) were assessed together with ‘Santa Clara’ (susceptible control) and PI-134417 (resistant control) in a circular arena made of foam (50 cm diameter), followed by counting of mites on each accession. In the no-choice trial, four less preferred accessions from the choice trial plus the susceptible and resistant control were tested using 2-cm-diameter leaflets circles. Daily mortality was evaluated until the life cycle was completed. The content of zingiberene, 2-tridecanone, the number of idioblasts containing calcium oxalate crystals (COC), and the thickness of the lower and upper leaf epidermis, palisade parenchyma, lacunous parenchyma, and leaf blade were determined. The zingiberene, 2-tridecanone, number of idioblasts containing COC, lower and upper leaf epidermis thickness, palisade parenchyma, lacunous parenchyma, and leaf blade differed among treatments. In most situations, the accessions HGBs-2119 and 2123 had the highest thickness of the anatomical tissue components measured. The highest number of idioblasts containing COC was found in PI-134417 and HGB-2119. The zingeberene content was maximum in the HGB-2119 access and minimum in the resistant control PI-134417. Two-tridecanone was detected only in the resistant control PI-134417. The female survival rate and the number of eggs decreased significantly as the number of idioblasts containing COC increased. The overall analysis of the data shows that the accessions HGBs-2119, 813, 2123, and 327 have the greatest potential to serve as resistant sources for the introgression of resistant genes in tomato lines for processing industries.</p><h3>Graphical abstract</h3>\u0000<div><figure><div><div><picture><source><img></source></picture></div></div></figure></div></div>","PeriodicalId":8409,"journal":{"name":"Arthropod-Plant Interactions","volume":"19 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143107888","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Activity of essential oil from Stemodia viscosa Roxb against immature stages of Anopheles stephensi Liston, Aedes aegypti L and Culex quinquefasciatus say (Diptera: Culicidae)","authors":"Pathalam Ganesan,&nbsp;Jeyaraj Selvakumaran,&nbsp;Savarimuthu Ignacimuthu,&nbsp;Rajakrishnan Rajagopal,&nbsp;Ahmed Alfarhan,&nbsp;Arokiyaraj Selvaraj","doi":"10.1007/s11829-025-10130-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11829-025-10130-8","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Mosquitoes are crucial vectors globally, particularly prevalent in tropical regions. They are considered especially hazardous compared to other disease vectors due to the severe detrimental impacts they cause. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of essential oil from <i>Stemodia viscosa</i> against <i>Aedes aegypti</i>, <i>Anopheles stephensi</i> and <i>Culex quinquefasciatus</i> mosquitoes. Concentrations of 3.125–50 ppm were used to check the mosquitocidal activity. <i>S. viscosa</i> essential oil displayed 96–100% ovicidal mortality against the eggs of these three species at 50 ppm concentration within 24 h; it was comparable to that of temephos the positive control. Strong mosquitocidal activity was observed, with LC₅₀ and LC₉₀ values of 8. 8, 5.9, 5.1 ppm and 37.5, 33.7 and 25.7 ppm against larvae of <i>Ae. aegypti, Cx. quinquefasciatus</i> and <i>An. stephensi</i> mosquitoes, respectively, at 24 h. Essential oil showed the least activity against pupae of all three vector mosquitoes at 50 ppm concentration. Three major compounds—Caryophyllene (64.05%), Humulene (12.83%) and Androsta-1,4,6-triene-3,17-dione (10.31%)—were identified as the main compounds present in the essential oil which may account for these activities. Toxicity studies revealed that the essential oil from <i>S. viscosa</i> had no negative effects on tested natural predators. The essential oil was then formulated for field-level application and its toxicity was tested in laboratory setting. The results showed promising mosquitocidal activity without any toxicity toward the tested natural predators. These observations strongly indicate that the essential oil from <i>S. viscosa</i> can be used as mosquitocidal agent against three disease-transmitting mosquitoes without causing environmental damage, making it effective green mosquitocide.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8409,"journal":{"name":"Arthropod-Plant Interactions","volume":"19 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143107889","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Impact of Apis mellifera on the bee-plant trophic interaction network in post-mining restoration areas in the Amazon","authors":"Juliana da Silva Cardoso,&nbsp;Cláudia Inês da Silva,&nbsp;Marivana Borges Silva,&nbsp;Leilane Ávila Bezerra,&nbsp;Beatriz Woiski Teixeira Coelho,&nbsp;Rosângela Santa-Brígida,&nbsp;Marlúcia Bonifácio Martins,&nbsp;Roberta Macedo Cerqueira,&nbsp;Márcia Motta Maués","doi":"10.1007/s11829-024-10126-w","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11829-024-10126-w","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>To investigate how plant-pollinator ecological interactions are affected by habitat modification, and to provide information to support restoration efforts, we characterized trophic interaction networks between bees and plants in a natural regeneration area and forest edge environments in a post-bauxite mining area in the eastern Amazon. For this purpose, bees were collected on the flowers of <i>Gouania cornifolia</i> Reissek (Rhamnaceae), an ordinary native liana in the studied areas, which plays a crucial role in post-mining regeneration by enhancing ecosystem interaction networks between plants and pollinators, and attracting a diversity of floral visitors. The pollen deposited on the bees’ bodies was removed, and through palynology, the plant species that bees visited to collect food were identified. Subsequently, a presence-absence matrix was constructed, trophic interaction networks were created, and metrics analyses were performed. Forest edge areas showed greater native bee diversity, a higher richness of pollen types, and a more nested interaction network with the exclusion of the exotic species <i>Apis mellifera</i> compared to natural regeneration areas. <i>Apis mellifera</i> exploited a greater richness of floral sources due to its wide foraging range, which allowed for movement between different environments, including preserved forest, forest edge, and natural regeneration. This exotic bee alters the structure of interaction networks, being more evident in areas of natural regeneration. We found that bee-plant networks at forest edges demonstrated greater resilience compared to those in natural regeneration areas, emphasizing the importance of preserved forest environments in the recovery of ecological networks.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8409,"journal":{"name":"Arthropod-Plant Interactions","volume":"19 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143108253","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Host selection behavior of Spodoptera exigua (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae, Hübner, 1808) in response to Rosmarinus officinalis (Lamiales: Lamiaceae, Linnaeus, 1753) volatiles","authors":"Qiuyu Zhao,&nbsp;Chao Liu,&nbsp;Sha Xie,&nbsp;Guiyan Chen,&nbsp;Xiaoqin Yang,&nbsp;Yanxiang Xu,&nbsp;Fazhong Yang,&nbsp;Yunxian Li","doi":"10.1007/s11829-024-10124-y","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11829-024-10124-y","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Plant volatiles play an important role as cues for herbivorous insects in search of resources, mates, and oviposition sites in complex environments. The use of plant volatiles as attractants or repellents can be utilized to monitor and control pest populations. <i>Spodoptera exigua</i> (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae, Hübner, 1808) is a highly destructive pest of cruciferous crops that has developed resistance to a variety of insecticides, making the management challenging. This study aimed to investigate the behavioral response of the pest to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by <i>Rosmarinus officinalis</i> (Lamiales: Lamiaceae, Linnaeus, 1753). We identified ten compounds from the rosemary using gas chromatography-electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD). We then subjected these compounds to ovipositional and olfactory bioassays. The results revealed that the moths were significantly attracted to seven compounds while being repelled by the others. In oviposition bioassays, linalool showed the greatest attractive effect at 69.97% (<i>P</i> &lt; 0.001) at 15,000 μg·mL⁻¹, while eucalyptol exhibited the highest repellent rate at 47.11% (<i>P</i> &lt; 0.01) at 1500 μg·mL⁻¹. In olfactory bioassays, <i>β</i>-pinene showed high attractiveness at a concentration of 150 μg·mL⁻¹, with the attractive rate of 66.67% (<i>χ</i>^<i>2</i> = 8.64, d<i>f</i> = 1, <i>P</i> = 0.001). Eucalyptol again displayed strong repellent activity at 42.86% (<i>χ</i>^<i>2</i> = 5.14, d<i>f</i> = 1, <i>P</i> = 0.023) at a concentration of 1500 μg·mL⁻¹. Furthermore, these compounds elicited a dose–response from the moth in these bioassays. This study demonstrates the theoretical feasibility of using rosemary as an attractive crop in agricultural fields for the environmentally friendly management of beet armyworms. However, when VOCs are applied in the field, they often experience significant dilution, resulting in behaviors much less than those observed in the lab. Therefore, these compounds require testing in field settings to ensure their viability as a management strategy for insects.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8409,"journal":{"name":"Arthropod-Plant Interactions","volume":"19 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143109807","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of baculovirus-killed cadavers on plant defenses and insect behavior","authors":"Asher G. Jones,&nbsp;Ikkei Shikano,&nbsp;Charles J. Mason,&nbsp;Michelle Peiffer,&nbsp;Gary W. Felton,&nbsp;Kelli Hoover","doi":"10.1007/s11829-024-10129-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11829-024-10129-7","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Baculoviruses are a group of entomopathogenic viruses that are important natural enemies of insects, particularly lepidopteran larvae. An important component of baculovirus transmission efficiency is the frequency with which hosts encounter patchily distributed virions on plants. Little is known about the ecology and bacterial composition of virus-killed cadavers. We used a baculovirus and host <i>Trichoplusia ni</i> caterpillars to study the effects of virus-killed cadavers on tomato plant defenses and <i>T. ni</i> behavior. We also compared bacterial communities associated with virus-killed and uninfected (freeze-killed) cadavers and found that there was no significant difference in community composition and membership between tomato-fed virus-killed or freeze-killed cadavers. Comparison of virus-killed cadavers from two separate experiments revealed significant differences in bacterial community composition, suggesting that host plant could play a more important role in shaping bacterial communities than virus infection status. Culture-dependent plating indicated that virus-killed cadavers had significantly higher bacterial titers compared with uninfected cadavers. We found that virus-killed cadavers suppressed polyphenol oxidase activity, an important plant defense protein, in mechanically damaged plants, but not in plants damaged by herbivory. Although cadavers did not influence plant defenses induced by feeding damage inflicted by healthy or infected <i>T. ni</i>, this study provides the first evidence that baculoviruses could influence plant defenses through host cadavers. When applied to intact plants, neither virus-killed or freeze-killed cadavers influenced <i>T. ni</i> oviposition, larval choice, or larval consumption, indicating these insects did not discriminate cadaver cues. Virus-killed cadavers could play important roles in mediating interactions between plants, herbivores, and other trophic levels, with potential implications for viral transmission dynamics.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8409,"journal":{"name":"Arthropod-Plant Interactions","volume":"19 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11829-024-10129-7.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143109561","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Among hawkmoths (Sphingidae, Lepidoptera), Macroglossinae dominate pollen transportation in central and East Himalaya (North-East India)","authors":"Navneet Singh,&nbsp;Dipayan Mitra,&nbsp;Rajesh Lenka,&nbsp;Pallab Chatterjee,&nbsp;Sadhan Kumar Basumatary,&nbsp;Swati Tripathi","doi":"10.1007/s11829-024-10127-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11829-024-10127-9","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The role of hawkmoths in pollination is surprisingly understudied in tropical Asia and most of the studies related to flower visitation recordings lack a robust assessment. From India, very few research papers could be reviewed on the pollination ecology of hawkmoths. Herein, we analyzed the interactions of 109 individuals in 39 hawkmoth species to study their role as pollen transporters and potential pollinators. 67 individuals (61.47%), accounting for 29 species (74.35%), are found to be pollen carrier moths (PCM). The hawkmoths transported pollen from 16 plant families, with Ericaceae dominating the pollen composition (33.37% of total pollen grains). The pollen spectra (based on pollen abundance and relative pollen frequency) revealed that 44 PCM (18 species) came from Macroglossinae, followed by 16 PCM (7 species) from Smerinthinae, and 7 PCM (4 species) from Sphinginae. Macroglossinae transported pollen of 14 plant families. The value of selectivity (H2’) is 0.77 for the pollen transportation network and 0.36 for the moth-plant visitation network. We followed the refined method of pollen extraction from proboscides, rather than swabbing body parts, which enabled us to assess pollen carrying capacity in a refined way. Considering the scenario of the declining global pollinators, largely affecting crop production, moths are the least concerned insects for conservation and management. The outcome of the present study will help in strengthening the baseline information for expanding plant-moth interaction network-related studies and considering the least concerned groups of insects in the conservation policies.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8409,"journal":{"name":"Arthropod-Plant Interactions","volume":"19 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143109563","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Variation in weed seed DNA detectability among arable carabids with different trophic specialization","authors":"Veronika Neidel,&nbsp;Hana Vašková,&nbsp;Corinna Wallinger,&nbsp;Pavel Saska","doi":"10.1007/s11829-024-10122-0","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11829-024-10122-0","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>While most ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) include seeds in their diet, preferences for seed feeding vary among carabid species and range from facultative diet supplementation to obligate seed feeding. DNA-based diet analyses have been used to study their regulatory effect on soil seedbanks. It is unknown whether specialized granivores digest seed species they are adapted to (‘essential seeds’) faster, and whether this affects food web construction based on molecular data. We hypothesized that specialized granivores digest their essential seed faster than other seeds, and at faster rates than generalist granivores or carnivores. Further, we assumed that generalist granivores digest different seeds equally fast, while carnivorous carabids digest seeds slower than granivores. In feeding experiments, three carabid species—<i>Amara similata</i> (specialized granivore), <i>Harpalus affinis</i> (generalist granivore), and <i>Poecilus cupreus</i> (generalist carnivore)—were fed either a broadly accepted seed or the specialist's essential seed. Gut content samples were collected 0, 6, 12, 24, 48, and 72 h after feeding and screened with plant-primers to trace seed DNA. Time until 50% detection probability in the specialists was shorter for its essential than the broadly accepted seed and shorter than in the generalist granivore, which digested both seed species equally fast. The carnivore was reluctant to feed on the seed species offered, and detection probabilities did not significantly decrease with digestion time. Our findings suggest that the strength of specialized granivores’ feeding interactions and their role in weed seed regulation might be underestimated when assessed with DNA-based diet analysis, due to their more efficient seed digestion.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8409,"journal":{"name":"Arthropod-Plant Interactions","volume":"19 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11829-024-10122-0.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143109637","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}