Hou Wenhua, Xia Linhai, Yuan Xiaoxiao, Peng Xiong, Piñero Jaime C, Chen Maohua
State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology for Arid Areas, Key laboratory of Plant Protection Resources and Pest Management of Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management on the Loess Plateau of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Plant Protection, Northwest A&F University, Yangling712100, Shaanxi, China.
Stockbridge School of Agriculture, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA.
Bull Entomol Res. 2026 Feb;116(1):47-57. doi: 10.1017/S0007485325100424.
The host plant associations of the bird cherry-oat aphid, (L.), a major pest of wheat, before and after wheat harvest remain poorly understood. Overlapping growth of maize and wheat may promote survival and movement between crops. We examined population dynamics and constructed life tables for reared on wheat seedlings, maize husks, and maize leaves. Field-collected survived on both maize tissues, but aphid abundance declined sharply on aging maize leaves, while aphids on maize husks developed successfully. Aphids reared on wheat exhibited the fastest development, longest lifespan (27.89 ± 1.20 days), highest fecundity (98.59 ± 5.61 nymphs), and lowest mortality (2.56%). In contrast, aphids transferred to maize leaves showed reduced longevity (19.62 ± 1.16 days), lower fecundity (33.55 ± 2.47 nymphs), and higher mortality (23.73%). No significant differences in some reproductive parameters were observed between wheat- and maize husk-reared aphids, indicating relatively good performance on maize husks. Aphids transferred from wheat to maize experienced fitness costs, while aphids moved from maize husks back to wheat exhibited improved performance. These findings suggest that maize husks offer a comparatively favourable resource microhabitat for , potentially serving as a secondary host that supports population persistence after wheat harvest.
麦二叉蚜是小麦的一种主要害虫，其在小麦收获前后与寄主植物的关联仍鲜为人知。玉米和小麦的生长重叠可能会促进麦二叉蚜在作物间的存活和移动。我们研究了在小麦幼苗、玉米苞叶和玉米叶片上饲养的麦二叉蚜的种群动态并构建了生命表。田间采集的麦二叉蚜能在两种玉米组织上存活，但在老化玉米叶片上蚜虫数量急剧下降，而在玉米苞叶上的蚜虫发育良好。在小麦上饲养的蚜虫发育最快，寿命最长（27.89 ± 1.20天），繁殖力最高（98.59 ± 5.61若虫），死亡率最低（2.56%）。相比之下，转移到玉米叶片上的蚜虫寿命缩短（19.62 ± 1.16天），繁殖力降低（33.55 ± 2.47若虫），死亡率升高（23.73%）。在小麦和玉米苞叶上饲养的蚜虫在一些繁殖参数上没有显著差异，表明其在玉米苞叶上表现相对良好。从小麦转移到玉米上的蚜虫经历了适合度代价，而从玉米苞叶转移回小麦上的蚜虫表现有所改善。这些发现表明，玉米苞叶为麦二叉蚜提供了一个相对有利的资源微生境，可能作为次要寄主支持小麦收获后的种群持续存在。
