Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-t5tsf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-18T14:15:10.805Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Relationships between insect pests and weeds: an evolutionary perspective

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Abstract

Weeds are an important plant resource for insects, although feeding by insects on weeds can have both positive and negative effects on crop productivity. Weeds also indirectly affect crops via their influence on beneficial insects, and by harboring plant and insect diseases. Weeds may affect the ability of dispersing insects to locate crop plants. The host relationship between insects and plants is highly variable, ranging from very specialized to generalized feeding behaviors. Despite the myriad interactions of weeds and insects, many aspects of the relationship are predictable. Most insects, including crop pests, are specialists, and preadapted to feed only on some plants, often within a single plant family. Even polyphagous insects often have a distinct preference hierarchy, feeding more widely only when preferred hosts are unavailable. Use of plants by insects is a dynamic interaction, with characteristics of the insect (e.g., mandible structure) and the plant (e.g., allelochemicals) affecting feeding behavior. Thus, weeds that are closely related to crops are particularly important in harboring insects that attack those crops. Crop production practices should seek to sever the taxonomic association between the crop and the weeds found within the crop, and nearby, by eliminating weeds related to the crop. This will make it less likely that insects will move easily from weed to crop plants, that damaging population densities of insects will develop in the field, and that insect vectors that harbor plant diseases will be harbored in the field. Particularly important integrated pest management practices include crop rotation, reduced use of chemical herbicides, and management of weeds in noncultivated areas.

Type
Symposium
Copyright
Copyright © Weed Science Society of America 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Literature Cited

Agrios, G. N. 1997. Plant pathology, 4th ed. San Diego: Academic Press. 635 p.Google Scholar
Agrios, G. N. 2004. Transmission of plant disease by insects. Pages 22902317 in Capinera, J. L. ed. Encyclopedia of Entomology. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic.Google Scholar
Al-Doghairi, M. A. and Cranshaw, W. S. 2004. The effect of interplanting of nectariferous plants on the population density and parasitism of cabbage plants. Southwest. Entomol 29:6168.Google Scholar
Altieri, M. A. 1988. The dynamics of insect populations in crop systems subject to weed interference. Pages 433451 in Heinrichs, E. A. ed. Plant stress-insect interactions. New York: Wiley-Interscience.Google Scholar
Bäckman, J-P. C. and Tiainen, J. 2002. Habitat quality of field margins in a Finnish farmland are for bumblebees (Hymenoptera: Bombus and Psithyrus). Agric. Ecosyst. Environ 89:5368.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bárberi, P. and Mazzoncini, M. 2001. Changes in weed community composition as influenced by cover crop and management system in continuous corn. Weed Sci 49:491499.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bernays, E. and Graham, M. 1988. On the evolution of host specificity in phytophagous arthropods. Ecology 69:886892.Google Scholar
Capinera, J. L. 2001. Handbook of vegetable pests. San Diego: Academic. 729 p.Google Scholar
Capinera, J. L. 2002. North American vegetable pests: the pattern of invasion. Am. Entomol 48:2039.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carruthers, R. I., Ramos, M. E., Larkin, T. S., Hostetter, D. L., and Soper, R. S. 1997. The Entomophaga grylli (Fresenius) Batko species complex: its biology, ecology, and use for biological control of pest grasshoppers. Mem. Entomol. Soc. Can 171:329353.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chellemi, D. O., Funderburk, J. E., and Hall, D. W. 1994. Seasonal abundance of flower-inhabiting Frankliniella species (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) on wild food plant species. Environ. Entomol 23:337342.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cordo, H. A., DeLoach, C. J., and Ferrer, R. 1995. Host range of the Argentine root borer Carmenta haematica (Ureta) (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae), a potential biocontrol agent for snakeweeds (Gutierrezia spp.) in the United States. Biol. Control 5:110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Finch, S. and Collier, R. H. 2000. Host plant selection by insects—a theory based on ‘appropriate/inappropriate landings’ by insects of cruciferous plants. Entomol. Exp. Appl 96:91102.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Futuyma, D. J. 1983. Selective factors in the evolution of host choice by phytophagous insects. Pages 227244 in Ahmad, S. ed. Herbivorous insects: Host-seeking behavior and mechanisms. New York: Academic.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gangwere, S. K. 1966. Relationships between mandibles, feeding behavior and damage inflicted on plants by the feeding of certain acridids (Orthoptera). Mich. Entomol 1:1316.Google Scholar
Goeden, R. D. and Andres, L. A. 1999. Biological control of weeds in terrestrial and aquatic environments. Pages 871890 in Bellows, T. S. and Fisher, T. W. eds. Handbook of biological control. San Diego: Academic.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hanson, F. E. 1983. The behavioral and neurophysiological basis of food plant selection by lepidopterous larvae. Pages 323 in Ahmad, S. ed. Herbivorous insects: Host-seeking behavior and mechanisms. New York: Academic.Google Scholar
Harborne, J. B. 1982. Introduction to ecological biochemistry, 2nd ed. London: Academic. 278 p.Google Scholar
Herzog, D. C. and Funderburk, J. E. 1986. Ecological bases for habitat management and pest cultural control. Pages 217250 in Kogan, M. ed. Ecological theory and integrated pest management practice. New York: Wiley-Interscience.Google Scholar
Horton, D. R. and Capinera, J. L. 1990. Host utilization by Colorado potato beetle (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) in a potato/weed (Solanum sarrachoides Sendt) system. Can. Entomol 122:113121.Google Scholar
Hunter, W. B. 2004. Plant viruses and insects. Pages 17621768 in Capinera, J. L. ed. Encyclopedia of entomology. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic.Google Scholar
Isley, F. B. 1944. Correlation between mandibular morphology and food specificity in grasshoppers. Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am 37:4767.Google Scholar
Judd, G. J. R. and Borden, J. H. 1992a. Influence of different habitats and mating on olfactory behavior of onion flies seeking ovipositional hosts. J. Chem. Ecol 18:605620.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Judd, G. J. R. and Borden, J. H. 1992b. Aggregated oviposition in Delia antiqua (Meigen): a case for mediation by semiochemicals. J. Chem. Ecol 18:621635.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kang, L., Gan, Y., and Li, S. L. 1999. The structural adaptation of mandibles and food specificity in grasshoppers on Inner Mongolian grasslands. J. Orthop. Res 8:257269.Google Scholar
Kennedy, J. S. 1976. Host-plant finding by flying insects. Pages 121123 in Jermy, T. ed. The host-plant in relation to insect behaviour and reproduction. New York: Plenum.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kennedy, J. S., Booth, C. O., and Kershaw, W. J. S. 1961. Host finding by aphids in the field. III. Visual attraction. Ann. Appl. Biol 49:121.Google Scholar
Kogan, M. 1986. Plant defense strategies and host-plant resistance. Pages 83134 in Kogan, M. ed. Ecological theory and integrated pest management practice. New York: Wiley-Interscience.Google Scholar
Kostal, V. and Finch, S. 1996. Preference of the cabbage root fly, Delia radicum (L.), for coloured traps: influence of sex and physiological status of the flies, trap background and experimental design. Physiol. Entomol 21:123130.Google Scholar
Metcalf, R. L. and Metcalf, R. A. 1993. Destructive and useful insects; their habits and control. 5th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Moericke, V. 1969. Hostplant specific color behaviour by Hyalopterous pruni (Aphididae). Entomol. Exp. Appl 12:524534.Google Scholar
Myers, J. H. and Bazely, D. R. 2003. Ecology and control of introduced plants. Cambridge, Great: Britain: Cambridge University Press. 313 p.Google Scholar
Norris, R. F. and Kogan, M. 2000. Interactions between weeds, arthropod pests, and their natural enemies in managed ecosystems. Weed Sci 48:94158.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Patterson, B. D. 1984. Correlation between mandibular morphology and specific diet of some desert grassland Acrididae. Am. Midl. Nat 111:296303.Google Scholar
Rhainds, M., Kovach, J., Dosa, E. L., and English-Loeb, G. 2001. Impact of reflective mulch on yield of strawberry plants and incidence of damage by tarnished plant bug (Heteroptera: Miridae). J. Econ. Entomol 94:14771484.Google Scholar
Russell, E. P. 1989. Enemies hypothesis: a review of the effect of vegetational diversity on predatory insects and its parasitoids. Environ. Entomol 18:590599.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Showler, A. T. and Greenberg, S. M. 2003. Effects of weeds on selected arthropod herbivore and natural enemy populations, and on cotton growth and yield. Environ. Entomol 32:3950.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, H. A. and McSorley, R. 2000. Intercropping and pest management: a review of major concepts. Am. Entomol 46:154161.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Southwood, T. R. E. 1986. Plant surfaces and insects—An overview. Pages 122 in Juniper, B. and Southwood, T.R.E. eds. Insects and the plant surface. London: Edward Arnold.Google Scholar
Stanton, M. L. 1983. Spatial patterns in the plant community and their effects upon insect search. Pages 125157 in Ahmad, S. ed. Herbivorous insects: Host-seeking behavior and mechanisms. New York: Academic.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stapleton, J. J. and Summers, C. G. 2002. Reflective mulches for management of aphids and aphid-borne virus diseases in late-season cantaloupe (Cucumis melo L. var. cantalupensis). Crop Prot 21:891898.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stavinsky, J., Funderburk, J., Brodbeck, B. V., Olson, S. M., and Andersen, P. C. 2002. Population dynamics of Frankliniella spp. and tomato spotted wilt incidence as influenced by cultural management tactics in tomato. J. Econ. Entomol 95:12161221.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Strong, D. R., Lawton, J. H., and Southwood, R. 1984. Insects on plants: Community patterns and mechanisms. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. 330 p.Google Scholar
Summers, C. G. and Stapleton, J. J. 2002. Use of UV reflective mulch to delay the colonization and reduce the severity of Bemisia argentifolii (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) infestations in cucurbits. Biol. Control 21:921928.Google Scholar
Tworkoski, T. J., Welker, W. V., and Vass, G. D. 2000. Weed community changes following Diuron, Simazine, or Terbacil application. Weed. Technol 14:197203.Google Scholar
Zherikhin, V. V. 2002. Ecological history of the terrestrial insects. Pages 331388 in Rasnitsyn, A. P. and Quicke, D.L.J. eds. History of insects. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic.Google Scholar