PLANTÐINSECT INTERACTIONS Feeding Preference of Holymenia clavigera and Anisoscelis foliacea marginella (Hemiptera: Coreidae: Anisoscelini) in Relation to Intra- and Interspecific Features of Host Plants (Passifloraceae) DANIELA RODRIGUES, 1,2 GERALDO L. G. SOARES, 3 AND GILSON R. P. MOREIRA 1,4 Environ. Entomol. 37(5): 1323Ð1331 (2008) ABSTRACT The interactions of Holymenia clavigera (Herbst) and Anisoscelis foliacea marginella (Dallas) with their hosts (Passißoraceae) in southern Brazil are poorly understood. Previous studies have indicated that both species use several host species and plant parts and have superior perfor- mance on wild hosts. This study evaluated feeding preferences and host plant use under both laboratory and Þeld conditions. Choice tests were performed to determine preference for Passiflora suberosa parts, preference for P. suberosa and Passiflora misera immature and ripe fruits, and pref- erence for P. suberosa, P. misera, and Passiflora edulis shoots. A Þeld survey was carried out to assess H. clavigera and A. foliacea marginella use of P. suberosa parts. In addition, immature and ripe fruits of P. suberosa and P. misera were characterized in relation to pH, phenols, and anthocyanins. First-instar nymphs preferred the terminal buds, shifting to immature fruits in the second instar. Both coreids more frequently fed on immature fruits than on ripe ones. Neither species showed a signiÞcant preference among host species. The immature fruits presented higher phenol content as compared with the ripe fruits; the opposite was observed for anthocyanins. In the Þeld, immature fruits and mature leaves were selected for feeding and resting. Thus, this study conÞrms the food mixing condition of these coreids, as well as the importance of fruits for their nutrition. Phenols, and presumably water, in the fruits may play a role in their feeding choices. KEY WORDS leaffooted bugs, passion vines, host plant selection, feeding choice tests, food mixing The study of insectÐplant interactions has traditionally been focused on three major issues: insect perfor- mance, consequences for the host plants, and insect preference. The latter may be examined on two levels: oviposition preference, which is commonly related to immature performance, and feeding preference (Abrahamson and Weis 1997). Study of oviposition and/or feeding preferences yields information about the degree of insect speciÞcity in relation to its host plants, i.e., monophagy, oligophagy, or polyphagy (see Bernays and Chapman 1994). Among hemipterans, preference studies comprise mainly feeding prefer- ence, and economically important species constitute the main focus (Lye and Story 1988, Panizzi 1995, Ventura et al. 2000). The anisoscelins Holymenia clavigera (Herbst) and Anisoscelis foliacea marginella (Dallas) use the same host plants as food resources (Schaefer and Mitchell 1983) and feed on both the vegetative and reproduc- tive parts of several passion vine (Passißoraceae) spe- cies (Rodrigues et al. 2007a). As a consequence, these coreids are considered as both oligophagous (use of passion vines) or food mixers (use of both vegetative and reproductive plant parts of different hosts) from a taxonomic or an ecological perspective, respectively (see Bernays and Chapman 1994, Bernays and Minkenberg 1997, Rodrigues et al. 2007a). These suck- ing insects perform well when feeding on Passiflora suberosa L., a wild, native, and the most abundant host plant from Rio Grande do Sul State (southern Brazil) compared with other hosts (Rodrigues et al. 2007a). However, no studies have been conducted regarding the feeding and oviposition preference for passion vines tissues, parts, and species. Preliminary observa- tions indicate a lack of oviposition site selection, be- cause eggs are rarely found on host plants but on several sites near them (D.R., personal observation). This study examines the feeding preference of H. clavigera and A. foliacea marginella at three levels: (1) intraspeciÞc (plant parts of P. suberosa, the passion vine that provides the best performance; Rodrigues et al. 2007a); (2) both intra- and interspeciÞc (fruit phe- nology of P. suberosa and Passiflora misera L., a plant part intensely used by these coreids under laboratory conditions; Rodrigues et al. 2007a); and (3) interspe- ciÞc (complete shoots of P. suberosa, P. misera, and Passiflora edulis Sims, the most common passion vine 1 Programa de Po ´ s-Graduac ¸ a ˜ o em Biologia Animal, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil. 2 Corresponding author, e-mail: dani_rodrig@yahoo.com.br. 3 Departamento de Bota ˆ nica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil. 4 Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil. 0046-225X/08/1323Ð1331$04.00/0  2008 Entomological Society of America Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/ee/article/37/5/1323/410114 by guest on 17 November 2022