External morphology and developmental changes of tarsal tips and mouthparts of the invasive spotted lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae)

Abstract

External structures of insects contribute to the ability of herbivores to select and feed on their host plants. The invasive spotted lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae) is an economically important and polyphagous insect pest in the eastern US. The lanternfly causes substantial damage to many woody plants by sucking phloem sap, reducing photosynthesis, causing weeping wounds, and creating conditions for sooty mold. Lanternfly nymphs switch host plants during their development. However, little is known about relationship between the lanternfly and its plant hosts, and particularly about morphological adaptations of the lanternfly to host plant usage at each developmental stage of the pest. In this study, we focused on assessing changes in morphology of (a) the lanternfly mouthparts (stylets and labium), and (b) the lanternfly tarsal tips (arolia and tarsal claws) at each developmental stage. Our study revealed several developmental patterns among which the presence of the indentations on mandibular stylets in late instars and adults, as well as the exponential growth of the labium and stylet length, and the tarsal claw dispersal during the lanternfly development. Our findings are critical for investigating and predicting the lanternfly host range, and the lanternfly dispersal to new host trees at each developmental stage.