The feeding preferences of Diabrotica speciosa (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) cause a parent-offspring conflict, as providing the best host for the offspring development is detrimental to adult survival and fecundity. Understanding the implications of this conflict could help entomologists to implement pest-management programs. With this in mind, the foraging behaviour of D. speciosa was investigated using an individual-based model in two distinct scenarios. In an intercropping scenario, parent-offspring conflict was simulated when adult insects exploit two crops (corn and soybean) that provide different nutritional advantages for each insect stage. First, we compared three hypothetical types of adult dispersal, considering a continuous oviposition over time: diffusion, attracted to a fixed host and alternating the preference between hosts with frequency $\frac {1}{\tau }$, where τ is the time in days spent foraging for each host. We also simulated two principles: “mother knows best” (adult females foraging for corn during the oviposition period) and “optimal bad motherhood” (adult females remain foraging for soybean to maximise their own fitness during the oviposition period), but considering the existence of a pre-oviposition period. In a landscape scenario, we investigated the population dynamics in an area composed by 4 crop plots that change over time. Among dispersal types considering continuous oviposition, the crop-alternating movement a-3 performed best, when close to an optimal τ. Additionally, τ was predicted to be influenced mainly by the width of crop rows. We also verified that the “mother knows best” strategy is better for the population growth than the “optimal bad motherhood”. In the landscape scenario, we observed that including fallow periods in the crop calendar and adopting a more-heterogeneous arrangement of crop plots reduced the density of this insect. Both the continuous and sequential oviposition simulations indicate that foraging involving switching of target crop benefits population fitness. In the landscape scenario, arranging crop plots more heterogeneously and avoiding vast areas of soybean can help farmers to control this insect pest. Additionally, fallow periods can also reduce significantly D. speciosa populations.

中文翻译：

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模拟多食性害虫的运动和特定阶段的栖息地偏好

Diabrotica speciosa (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) 的摄食偏好会导致亲子冲突，因为为后代发育提供最佳宿主不利于成虫的生存和繁殖力。了解这种冲突的影响可以帮助昆虫学家实施害虫管理计划。考虑到这一点，在两个不同的场景中使用基于个体的模型研究了 D. speciosa 的觅食行为。在间作情景中，当成虫利用两种作物（玉米和大豆）为每个昆虫阶段提供不同的营养优势时，模拟了亲子冲突。首先，我们比较了三种假设的成虫扩散类型，考虑到随着时间的推移持续产卵：扩散，被固定的宿主吸引，并以频率 $\frac {1}{\tau }$ 交替宿主之间的偏好，其中 τ 是每个宿主花费的时间（以天为单位）。我们还模拟了两个原则：“母亲最清楚”（成年雌性在产卵期间觅食玉米）和“最佳不良母性”（成年雌性在产卵期间继续觅食大豆以最大限度地提高自身的适应度），但考虑到存在产卵前的时期。在景观场景中，我们调查了由 4 个随时间变化的作物地块组成的区域内的人口动态。在考虑连续产卵的分散类型中，当接近最佳 τ 时，作物交替运动 a-3 表现最好。此外，预计 τ 主要受作物行宽的影响。我们还验证了“母亲最了解”策略比“最佳不良母性”更能促进人口增长。在景观场景中，我们观察到在作物日历中包括休耕期并采用更异质的作物地块排列降低了这种昆虫的密度。连续和连续产卵模拟都表明，涉及转换目标作物的觅食有益于种群适应性。在景观场景中，更不均匀地布置农田并避免大面积种植大豆可以帮助农民控制这种害虫。此外，休耕期还可以显着减少 D. speciosa 种群。我们观察到，在作物日历中包括休耕期并采用更异质的作物地块排列降低了这种昆虫的密度。连续和连续产卵模拟都表明，涉及转换目标作物的觅食有益于种群适应性。在景观场景中，更不均匀地布置农田并避免大面积种植大豆可以帮助农民控制这种害虫。此外，休耕期还可以显着减少 D. speciosa 种群。我们观察到，在作物日历中包括休耕期并采用更异质的作物地块排列降低了这种昆虫的密度。连续和连续产卵模拟都表明，涉及转换目标作物的觅食有益于种群适应性。在景观场景中，更不均匀地布置农田并避免大面积种植大豆可以帮助农民控制这种害虫。此外，休耕期还可以显着减少 D. speciosa 种群。更不均匀地安排作物地块并避免大面积种植大豆可以帮助农民控制这种害虫。此外，休耕期还可以显着减少 D. speciosa 种群。更不均匀地安排作物地块并避免大面积种植大豆可以帮助农民控制这种害虫。此外，休耕期还可以显着减少 D. speciosa 种群。