Co-occurring herbivorous pests may have shared or divergent responses to plant- and insect- derived cues, creating challenges for effective pest management in agroecosystems. We examined how behaviors of two endemic specialist herbivores of Cucurbitaceae crops, squash bugs (Anasa tristis, Hemiptera: Coreidae) and striped cucumber beetles (Acalymma vittatum, Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) are affected by cues in the Cucurbita pepo agroecosystem. We evaluated plant resistance to squash bugs and beetles using cultivars that typify the two domesticated subspecies C. p. pepo (e.g., zucchini) and C. p. ovifera (e.g., straightneck summer squash), and tested how squash bugs respond to beetle aggregation and feeding. Across several field experiments, we demonstrated that squash bugs prefer to oviposit on C. p. ovifera over C. p. pepo, while beetles had the opposing preference. Nonetheless, there was no link between preference and squash bug nymphal survival or development. While squash bugs and beetles diverge in preference, we found that squash bugs positively respond to beetle-derived cues. More squash bug oviposition was observed on plants with greater beetle damage and, using both actively feeding beetles and synthetic lures, we demonstrate that bugs eavesdrop on and respond to vittatalactone, the male-produced beetle aggregation pheromone. Thus, squash bugs appear to exploit the cue of a co-occurring specialist beetle for host choice and this has implications for management: while there are trade-offs in varietal preference, synergistic trapping of both pests may be possible. By evaluating the behavior of co-occurring pests, management strategies with multi-species efficacy can be identified and applied in agroecologically-based pest management.

共生的草食性害虫可能对植物和昆虫产生的线索有共同或不同的反应，从而对农业生态系统中有效的害虫管理提出了挑战。我们研究了葫芦科作物中的两种地方性专门草食动物，南瓜虫（Anas tristis，半翅目：Coreidae）和条纹黄瓜甲虫（Acalymma vittatum，鞘翅目：Chrysomelidae）的行为如何受到葫芦科pepo农业生态系统中线索的影响。我们使用代表两个驯化亚种C. p。的栽培品种评估了植物对南瓜和甲虫的抗性。pepo（例如西葫芦）和C. p。卵（例如，西葫芦），并测试了壁球虫对甲虫聚集和觅食的反应。在多个现场实验中，我们证明了壁球虫更喜欢在C. p。上产卵。ovifera超过C.页。佩珀，而甲虫则有相反的偏好。尽管如此，偏好与南瓜虫若虫的生存或发育之间没有联系。虽然壁球虫和甲虫在偏好上有所不同，但我们发现壁球虫对源自甲虫的线索有积极的反应。在甲虫危害更大的植物上观察到更多的南瓜虫卵产卵，并且使用主动喂食的甲虫和人工诱饵，我们证明了虫子会偷听并响应雄性甲虫聚集信息素vittatalactone。因此，壁球虫似乎利用共同出现的甲虫的线索进行寄主选择，这对管理产生了影响：虽然在品种偏好方面存在取舍，但可能会同时诱捕两种害虫。通过评估共生害虫的行为，