Selection of wild hosts for feeding by passion vine hopper, Scolypopa australis (Walker) (Hemiptera: Ricaniidae) in the bay of plenty

摘要

Passion vine hopper, Scolypopa australis (Walker) (Hemiptera: Ricaniidae), a pest of kiwifruit, occurs on a wide range of native and introduced plants that are probably not equally preferred as hosts. First-instar nymphs and adults were observed on 69 percent and 53 percent respectively, of 42 plant species found at varying frequency in a survey of gullies adjacent to kiwifruit orchards in the Bay of Plenty. In choice tests with four plant species common in gullies, first-instar nymphs and adults preferred the native species mahoe (Melicytus ramiflorus). Under no-choice conditions, survival from first to late instar was also best on mahoe. Of 10 plant species in a no-choice test, adults survived best and laid most eggs on the native species wineberry (Aristotelia serrata).