Relationships between adult abdominal color and reproductive potential in Diaphorina citri (Hemiptera: Psyllidae)

Abstract

Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Psyllidae), a vector of huanglongbing (citrus greening disease), exhibits three more or less distinct abdominal colors in the adult stage: gray/brown, blue/green, and orange/yellow. A previous report showed that, relative to blue/green individuals, gray/brown individuals of both sexes have lower body mass, and gray/brown females may have lower reproductive output. In the present investigation, we directly examined the relationships between female and male abdominal color and reproductive output. We also assessed how psyllid body mass was influenced by transfer to fresh plant material and how female and male abdominal color affected behavioral responses of males to crushed females in apetri dish assay. Relative to blue/green females, gray/brown females exhibited lower fecundity over the first 2-5 d after mating, but fecundity did not differ over the remainder of a 21-d observation period. Regardless of abdominal color, females mated with gray/brown males showed an earlier, sharper peak in fecundity, whereas females mated with blue/green males showed a later, more gradual peak in fecundity. Gray/brown males elicited lower egg fertility in their mates, but egg fertility did not vary according to female abdominal color. Males-irrespective of abdominal color-exhibited stronger evidence of attraction to crushed blue/green females than to crushed gray/brown females. Gray/brown individuals of both sexes showed an increase in body mass 5-6 d after transfer to a new citrus seedling, suggesting that abdominal color (which is closely related to body mass) may be influenced at least in part by plant quality. © 2009 Entomological Society of America.