RESEARCH ARTICLE Development and testing of a standardized method to estimate honeydew production Melinda L. Moir1,2*, Michael Renton1,3, Benjamin D. Hoffmann4, Mei Chen Leng1, Lori Lach1,5 1 School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia, 2 Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, South Perth, Western Australia, Australia, 3 School of Agriculture and Environment, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia, 4 CSIRO, Tropical Ecosystems Research Centre, Winnellie, Northern Territory, Australia, 5 Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland, Australia a1111111111 a1111111111 *
[email protected] a1111111111 a1111111111 a1111111111 Abstract Honeydew production by Hemiptera is an ecologically important process that facilitates mutualisms and increases nutrient cycling. Accurate estimates of the amount of honeydew available in a system are essential for quantifying food web dynamics, energy flow, and the OPEN ACCESS potential growth of sooty mould that inhibits plant growth. Despite the importance of honey- Citation: Moir ML, Renton M, Hoffmann BD, Leng MC, Lach L (2018) Development and testing of a dew, there is no standardized method to estimate its production when intensive laboratory standardized method to estimate honeydew testing is not feasible. We developed two new models to predict honeydew production, one production. PLoS ONE 13(8): e0201845. https:// based on insect body mass and taxonomic family, and one based on body mass and life doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0201845 stage. We tested the accuracy of both models' predictions for a diverse range of honeydew- Editor: Owain Rhys Edwards, CSIRO, AUSTRALIA producing hemipteran families (Aphididae, Pseudococcidae, Coccidae, Psyllidae, Aleyrodi- Received: March 28, 2018 dae, Delphacidae, Cicadellidae).