Preference and Performance of an Herbivorous Fly, Liriomyza trifolii (Diptera: Agromyzidae), on Tomato Plants Differing in Leaf Nitrogen

Abstract

Host-plant selection by Liriomyza trifolii (Burgess) was examined on tomato plants, Lycopersicon esculentum Miller, containing 4.2, 4.5, 5.1, or 5.6% leaf nitrogen. In no-choice tests, the acceptability of plants for feeding and oviposition was not substantially influenced by nitrogen level. In choice tests, flies that had been exposed previously to plants of high nitrogen preferred to feed and oviposit on high nitrogen plants, whereas flies previously exposed to plants with the least nitrogen showed no preference. Performance variables such as egg-larval development rate and survivorship, and pupal size were increased with increasing nitrogen levels; this relationship suggests a functional explanation for the preference shown by L. trifolii flies exposed previously to plants with high nitrogen.