The relationship between oviposition preference and offspring performance is critical to an understanding of the interaction between herbivores and host plants. Although the topic has been addressed widely in plant species-herbivore systems, it has rarely been investigated in plant stage-herbivore systems. In this study, we evaluated oviposition preference and offspring performance of the rice leaf folder (RLF), Cnaphalocrocis medinalis (Guenée) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), on rice plants at the seedling (SS), tillering (TS), and booting (BS) stages. In preference assays, females deposited more eggs on TS and BS than on SS plants in cage tests, and preferred TS and BS odors over SS odors in Y-tube olfactometer tests. Offspring performance was affected by plant stage. The RLF offspring performed well when the larvae fed on BS leaves, as indicated by the highest larval survival and pupation rate and the greatest adult longevity. RLF offspring performed also well when the larvae fed on TS leaves, where fecundity was the highest. The high RLF offspring performance on TS and BS plants coincided with high larval consumption of TS and BS leaf mass relative to SS leaf mass. Our findings confirm the prediction of the preference–performance hypothesis. The results explain the pest damage patterns in mixed croppings of one- and two-season rice and are of significance for management of the pest through synchronization of rice planting.

中文翻译：

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水稻叶片夹 Cnaphalocrocis medinalis 的偏好和性能与水稻发育阶段的关系

产卵偏好和后代表现之间的关系对于理解食草动物和寄主植物之间的相互作用至关重要。尽管该主题已在植物物种-食草动物系统中得到广泛解决，但很少在植物阶段-食草动物系统中进行研究。在这项研究中，我们评估了稻叶夹 (RLF) Cnaphalocrocis medinalis 的产卵偏好和后代表现（Guenée）（鳞翅目：Pyralidae），在水稻幼苗 (SS)、分蘖 (TS) 和孕穗 (BS) 阶段。在偏好测定中，在笼子测试中，雌性在 TS 和 BS 上比在 SS 植物上沉积的卵更多，并且在 Y 管嗅觉计测试中，TS 和 BS 气味优于 SS 气味。后代的表现受植株阶段的影响。当幼虫以 BS 叶为食时，RLF 后代表现良好，如最高的幼虫存活率和化蛹率以及最长的成虫寿命所示。当幼虫以 TS 叶为食时，RLF 后代也表现良好，其中繁殖力最高。TS 和 BS 植物的高 RLF 后代表现与 TS 和 BS 叶质量相对于 SS 叶质量的高幼虫消耗相吻合。我们的研究结果证实了偏好 - 绩效假设的预测。