Effects of a host plant, Brassica juncea, on calling behaviour and egg maturation in the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella

The influence of the presence of seedlings of a host plant, Oriental mustard, Brassica juncea (L.) Coss., on the calling behaviour and egg maturation in the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.), was investigated. In the presence of plants, females began calling at a younger age, began calling earlier in the night, and spent more time calling. Females which were kept with plants until after their first night of calling and then were isolated from plants, subsequently called less, at a level not significantly different from females which had never been exposed to plants. Of all females, both with and without plants, which were dissected at the end of the first night of calling (n = 150), 93% contained mature eggs. Heavier females were significantly more likely to have mature eggs at adult emergence, to begin calling at a younger age and to spend more time calling on their first night of calling. The number of developed eggs in calling females was not significantly different in the presence or absence of host plants on the first night of calling. However, by the second night, females in the presence of plants contained significantly more eggs, indicating that the presence of plants accelerated egg maturation, both before and after the onset of calling. 1993 The Netherlands Entomological Society