Saks Margaret E, Rankin Mary Ann, Stinner R E
Department of Zoology, The University of Texas, 78712, Austin, TX, USA.
Department of Entomology, North Carolina State University, 27650, Rafeigh, NC, USA.
Oecologia. 1988 Mar;75(2):296-302. doi: 10.1007/BF00378613.
Flight of male and female Mexican bean beetle adults was examined in laboratory tests. The experimental design made it possible to examine flight behavior not only with respect to different types of hosts (young vs senescent common bean foliage) but also with respect to effects due to their utilization during particular stages of beetle development. The median flight time of males was significantly affected by the adult host, but not by the juvenile host; whereas, the median flight time of females tended to be more affected by the juvenile than by the adult host. These different effects of hosts on the flight times of males and females resulted in sexual dimorphism in flight when the sexes were fed senescent foliage as adults. Although age significantly affected the flight time of both males and females, the reproductive status of females did not affect their flight times. The significance of these results are discussed with respect to the influence of the nutritional complexity of habitats on life history strategies and population dynamics.
在实验室测试中对墨西哥豆瓢虫成虫（雌雄）的飞行情况进行了研究。该实验设计不仅能够针对不同类型的寄主（嫩的与衰老的普通豆科植物叶片）研究飞行行为，还能研究在甲虫发育的特定阶段因利用这些寄主而产生的影响。雄性的飞行时间中位数受成虫期寄主的显著影响，但不受幼虫期寄主的影响；而雌性的飞行时间中位数受幼虫期寄主的影响往往比受成虫期寄主的影响更大。当成虫期雌雄两性都以衰老叶片为食时，寄主对雌雄飞行时间的这些不同影响导致了飞行中的两性异形。虽然年龄对雄性和雌性的飞行时间均有显著影响，但雌性的生殖状态并不影响其飞行时间。结合栖息地营养复杂性对生活史策略和种群动态的影响对这些结果的意义进行了讨论。
