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A technique for transplanting gall-making insects: impacts on gall-maker and parasitoid larvae

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 April 2012

Graham H. Cox ,
Stephen B. Heard  and
Julie M. Seehawer
Graham H. Cox
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada E3B 1R3
Stephen B. Heard*
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada E3B 1R3
Julie M. Seehawer
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52240, United States of America
*
1Corresponding author (e-mail: sheard@unb.ca).
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Abstract

Past studies of gall-maker-host interactions have been hampered by an inability to conduct experimental transplants of individuals between host plants. We describe a method for transplanting gall-maker larvae between galls on different individual host plants. Our method involves removing and inserting larvae through slits cut in young galls, and allows for healing and continuing growth of the gall. We developed and tested our method with larvae of the gall-making moth Gnorimoschema gallaesolidaginis Riley (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) on its two host plants, Solidago altissima L. and S. gigantea Ait. (Asteraceae). For three of four host × year combinations, unparasitized larvae survived at similar rates in transplants and controls. On one host in one year, transplant survival was low, possibly as a result of severe drought stress. Interestingly, survival of parasitized gall-maker larvae was lower in transplants for three of four host × year combinations, suggesting that gall-makers stressed by parasitoid attack are less able to tolerate transplant stress. Our technique may be applicable to many other gall-maker species, especially those making relatively thin-walled galls, and should represent a valuable new tool for the study of gall-maker-host interactions.

Résumé

Les études antérieures des interactions entre les insectes galligènes et leur hôtes ont été entravées par l’impossibilité de transplanter expérimentalement les individus entre les plantes hôtes. Nous décrivons une méthode pour transplanter les larves galligènes d’une galle à une autre sur différentes plantes hôtes individuelles. Notre méthode consiste dans le retrait ou l’insertion des larves par une fente pratiquée sur de jeunes galles et elle permet la cicatrisation et la poursuite de la croissance de la galle. Nous avons mis au point et testé notre méthode avec les larves du papillon de nuit galligène Gnorimoschema gallaesolidaginis (Riley) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) sur ses deux plantes hôtes, Solidago altissima L. et S. gigantea Ait. (Asteraceae). Dans trois des quatre combinaisons hôte × année, les larves non parasitées dans les expériences de transplantation ont eu des taux de survie semblables à ceux des témoins. Dans une des années, chez un des hôtes, la survie après la transplantation était basse, possiblement à cause d’un stress dû à une forte sécheresse. Il est intéressant de noter que la survie des larves galligènes parasitées a été plus faible dans 3 des 4 combinaisons hôte × année, ce qui laisse croire que les insectes galligènes sous le stress d’une attaque de parasitoïdes sont moins capables de tolérer le stress de la transplantation. Notre technique peut vraisemblablement s’appliquer à plusieurs autres espèces d’insectes galligènes, particulièrement à celles qui construisent des galles à parois relativement minces; elle représente un nouvel outil précieux pour étudier les interactions galligène-hôte.

[Traduit par la Rédaction]

Type
Articles
Information
The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 140 , Issue 5 , October 2008 , pp. 611 - 616
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 2008

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