Capello S, de Wysiecki M L, Marchese M
Instituto Nacional de Limnología, Santa Fe, Argentina.
Neotrop Entomol. 2011 Mar-Apr;40(2):170-5.
The aquatic grasshopper Cornops aquaticum (Bruner) is native to South America and inhabits lowlands from southern Mexico to Central Argentina and Uruguay. This grasshopper is host-specific to aquatic plants of the genera Eichhornia and Pontederia. The objectives of this study were to analyze the feeding patterns of the aquatic grasshopper C. aquaticum in relationship to development stages and sex and to determine the food consumption rate in their host plant, Eichhornia crassipes. Samples were collected from April 2006 to May 2007 in different floodplain lakes of the Middle Parana River. The average consumption was greater in the females (0.127 g food/day ± 0.051) than in the males (0.060 g food/day ± 0.025). The feces of 361 nymphs and adults of this locust were examined and the most common tissue fragments found were of the water hyacinth (E. crassipes). In the initial nymphal stages (I, II and III), an exclusive consumption of E. crassipes was registered, while in the IV and V stages the choice included also other macrophytes. In summary, C. aquaticum presents polyphagy in the field, feeding on six macrophytes of different classes and families.
水生蝗虫Cornops aquaticum（布鲁纳）原产于南美洲，栖息于从墨西哥南部到阿根廷中部和乌拉圭的低地。这种蝗虫是凤眼莲属和梭鱼草属水生植物的专性寄主。本研究的目的是分析水生蝗虫C. aquaticum的取食模式与发育阶段和性别的关系，并确定其寄主植物凤眼莲的食物消耗率。2006年4月至2007年5月期间，在巴拉那河中游不同的漫滩湖泊采集样本。雌性蝗虫的平均消耗量（0.127克食物/天±0.051）高于雄性（0.060克食物/天±0.025）。对361只该蝗虫若虫和成虫的粪便进行了检查，发现最常见的组织碎片是凤眼莲（E. crassipes）的。在若虫初期阶段（I、II和III），记录到只取食凤眼莲，而在IV和V阶段，取食选择还包括其他大型植物。总之，C. aquaticum在野外表现出多食性，取食不同科和类别的六种大型植物。
