Insect-Host Plant Association: How Plant-Synztm Provides Information on the Quality of Supporting Evidence
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NA Martin 23 Insect-host plant association: how Plant-SyNZtm provides information on the quality of supporting evidence Nicholas A. Martin Research Associate, Landcare Research, Private Bag 92170, Auckland 11072. [email protected] Very early in the formation of the Plant-SyNZtm database I realised that it was important to show the quality of evidence supporting the association of a herbivore species with a host plant species. The literature varies in its approach. I will take as an example Spencer (1976) who describes Agromyzidae of New Zealand (Insecta: Diptera) and I will focus on the genus Phytoliriomyza (Diptera: Agromyzidae). I have chosen this genus because the association of two Phytoliriomyza species with silver fern, Cyathea dealbata, were highlighted in a recent paper (Thorpe 2021). The Plant-SyNZtm database has a table for herbivore/plant associations and forms for recording and showing information. The key form (Figure 1) shows the name of the herbivore, the host plant, and the reference in which details of the association were published. It also summarises the evidence for the association and gives this a reliability score from 1-10, where for a leaf miner, for example, 10 is for rearing an adult from a larva and/or pupa found in the host plant. The form also shows the name of the assessor and the date of assessment. Three species in the genus Phytoliriomyza, (P. cyathea, P. flavopleura and P. tearohenis) have genitalia that show they belong to a group of species whose larvae are fern feeders (Spencer 1976). Spencer (1976) reports that adults of P. cyathea were found on Cyathea dealbata and C. smithii at three locations in December and early January and that larvae in mines were present in December and early January (see Figs 2-5 for examples). 24 The Wētā 55:23-33 However, no adults were found on plants where larvae were feeding and because the larvae leave the mines to pupate no adults have been reared from larvae in mines. Therefore, the association between P. cyathea and the two Cyathea species was given a score of 8 (Table 1). I have also found mines in a third species of Cyathea and because no adults were found or reared I gave it a score of 7 (Table 1). Figure 1. Plant-SyNZ form showing the evidence for the association between a herbivore and its host plant. Spencer (1976) only found one male of P. tearohenis, and this was on C. dealbata. He comments that “It can never be assumed that the presence of a fly on a particular plant indicates that this is its host but in this case there seems a strong possibility that Alsophila [Cyathea] is the host.” In the Plant- SyNZ database I took the view that a single adult male fly sitting on a plant was not adequate evidence of a host association, whereas a single adult female ovipositing would provide strong evidence (although females cannot always be identified to species). NA Martin 25 When I found mines in C. cunninghamii, they were similar to those found on the other two species of Cyathea, that are made by Agromyzidae larvae, so I gave the association a score of 7. The third species with fern feeder type genitalia is Phytoliriomyza flavopleura. It has host plants in four fern genera (Table 2). The fly pupates within the frond making it easier to rear adults. For this fly species, there is good evidence for eight host plants in three families, moderate evidence for a ninth species, but a tenth potential host species received a score of only 1! The comment about the behaviour of the larvae in Blechnum fluviatile frond refers to them moving from one pinna to another by burrowing through the stalk of the frond. Now that I have reread Spencer (1976) I realise that P. flavopleura larvae do this in other ferns. The internet version of the Plant-SyNZ database gives users the option of having a list of host plants of a herbivore or having a list with reasons. Both lists contain the ‘Reliability score’ (Table 3). The web site was last updated in 2015. As well as showing the plants associated with a species of herbivore, the database can show the species of herbivores associated with a plant species (Table 4). In the non-internet database, I treat the evidence supporting the relationship between a predator and its prey and a parasitoid and its host in a similar way to herbivores and plants. The best solution to the issues raised in an earlier article by Stephen Thorpe (2021), is to rear adults from the agromyzid fly larvae found mining Cyathea fern fronds. Because Thorpe (2021) believes there could be two Phytoliriomyza exploiting Cyathea, adults should be reared from all three species of Cyathea that have so far been found with mines, and, ideally, from several geographic locations. Larvae have been found in frond mines in November, December, and January, but leave the mine to pupate (Figure 6). The difficulty to the rearing process is that the pupae must be kept alive until the adults emerge in late spring. 26 The Wētā 55:23-33 Figure 2. The upper surface of a frond of a Soft tree fern, Cyathea smithii with leaf mines caused by larvae presumed to be Phytoliriomya. cyathea (Agromyzidae). Figure 3. Larva of Phytoliriomya. cyathea (Agromyzidae) in its mine in silver fern, Cyathea dealbata. Note the black mandibles being used to rasp frond tissue. NA Martin 27 In the meantime, we are left with the possible discovery of a pair of P. tearohensis sitting on an unknown plant, which, if correct, would represent only the 2nd and 3rd specimens of this species to be collected (Thorpe 2021). In 2001 when I assessed the evidence for the association of P. cyatheae with ferns, C. dealbata and C. smithii, I gave the association a score of 8, hoping that one day I would rear adults and resolve the issue. This example illustrates the advantage of the Plant-SyNZ approach to plant-insect associations: a name can be tentatively assigned to un-reared larvae, and this information gathered with other evidence before making statements regarding a definitive association. Acknowledgements The author wishes to thank Landcare Research for developing and hosting the Plant-SyNZ web site. References Martin NA. 2017. Spleenwort fern leafminer - Phytoliriomyza flavopleura. Interesting Insects and other Invertebrates. New Zealand Arthropod Factsheet Series Number 80. nzacfactsheets.landcareresearch.co.nz/ Index.html. Spencer KA. 1976. The Agromyzidae of New Zealand (Insecta: Diptera). Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 6 (2): 153-211. Thorpe S. 2021. Agromyzid leaf miners on silver fern: not so simple? The Wētā 55:16-17. Watt MN. 1923. The leaf-mining insects of New Zealand: part III-Species belonging to the genera Agromyza (Fallen) and Phytomyza (Fallen) (Diptera). Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. 54: 465-489. 28 The Wētā 55:23-33 Table 1. Phytoliriomyza cyathea Spencer 1976 and its probable host plants recoded in the Plant-SyNZ database. Cyathea sp. Reliability Assessor, Reasons for association and score Date of score assessment dealbata 8 adults found on host plant, MartinNA, 28 genitalia of type associated with Sep 01 fern feeders, agromyzid mines found in host plant (Spencer 1976, pages196-197) smithii 8 adults found on host plant, MartinNA, 28 genitalia of type associated with Sep 01 fern feeders, agromyzid mines found in host plant (Spencer 1976, pages196-197) cunninghamii 7 leaf mines on host plant similar to MartinNA, 28 those on other Cyathea species. Sep 01 (NA Martin in 2001) Figure 4. larva of Phytoliriomya. cyathea (Agromyzidae) out of its mine in silver fern. Note the black mandibles being used to rasp frond tissue. NA Martin 29 Table 2. Host associations of Phytoliriomyza flavopleura Spencer 1976 recorded in Plant-SyNZ database. Host plant Reliability Reasons for association and score Date of score assessment Asplenium 10 Reared from host plant (N A Martin 2002) 15 Oct 02 appendiculatum Asplenium 10 Reared from host plant (NA Martin 2001) 28 Sep 01 bulbiferum Asplenium 9 Recorded as host plant, but not clear if flies were 28 Sep 01 flaccidum reared from host (Watt 1923, page 481), mines with larvae found by NA Martin Asplenium 10 Reared from host plant (Watt 1923, p 482) plant 28 Sep 01 oblongifolium name given as A. lucidum; and reared by NA Martin Asplenium 10 Agromyzid mines found in host plant (Spencer 02-Mar-18 polyodon 1976), plant name given as Asplenium falcatum Blechnum 1 Watt (1923) records this as a host plant, but 28 Sep 01 filiforme Spencer (1976) argues that it was mistaken identity for Phymatodes scandens (= Microsorum scandens); no leaf mines have been found in B. filiforme by J Dugdale or NA Martin Blechnum 10 Reared from host plant (NA Martin 2002), but 28 Sep 01 fluviatile adult fly has dark sternal triangle and different behaviour in leaves Microsorum 10 Listed as host plant (Harrison 1959, p 320), plant 01-Apr-05 pustulatum name given as Polypodium diversifolium and fly as Phytobia flavopleura; but not clear if reared (Polypodiaceae) from host (reared from host plant by NA Martin 2004) Microsorum 10 reared from host plant (NA Martin 2000) 28 Sep 01 scandens Notogrammitis 7 Recorded as host plant (Watt 1923) plant name 28 Sep 01 billardierei given as Polypodium australis, but not certain if reared from host plant 30 The Wētā 55:23-33 Table 3. Host associations of Phytoliriomyza cyathea Spencer 1976 presented in the Landcare Research web site for Plant-SyNZ, https://plant- synz.landcareresearch.co.nz/SearchForm.aspx.