GENETIC VARIATION IN PLANT-INSECT ASSOCIATIONS: SURVIVAL OF LEPTINOTARSA DECEMLINEATA POPULATIONS ON SOLANUM...

Populations of the Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), from the east coast of the United States differ in their ability to survive on a wild host, Solanum carolinense (Solanaceae), but not on their most important cultivated host, Solanum tuberosum. On the wild host, the North Carolina population survived best, while populations from Virginia, New Jersey, and Connecticut exhibited uniformly low survival. Formal genetic studies of populations from Connecticut and North Carolina demonstrated heritable variation in the ability to survive on S. carolinense both between and within populations; the North Carolina population had the higher heritability for this trait. Overall, there was no genetic variation between populations or within the North Carolina population for survival on S. tuberosum, but such variation existed within the Connecticut population. Hybrids and backcrosses between these two lines all survived at intermediate levels, although survivorship did not appear to be inherited additively. Differences in survival were greater than differences in adult weight at emergence and development time of the survivors. Leptinotarsa decemlineata was first reported from North Carolina less than 100 years ago. The rapid expansion of L. decemlineata's host range in North Carolina is attributed to the poor synchrony between the insect and S. tuberosum compared to more northerly locations. In contrast to the prediction of a strong negative correlation in fitness on different host species, the ability of L. decemlineata to survive on S. carolinense was not correlated with that on S. tuberosum. Adult weight and female development time were significantly positively correlated across hosts. Our results are in accord with most previous studies in which strong negative correlations in fitness of specialized phytophagous insects feeding on different hosts were expected, sought, but not found.