Seasonal host alternation by the andromeda lace bug,Stephanitis takeyai (Heteroptera: Tingidae) between its two main host-plant species

I studied the seasonal occurrence of the andromeda lace bug,Stephanitis takeyai, on its two main host-plant species. In a secondary forest in Kyoto, this bug altered its hosts seasonally, i.e., from an evergreen shrub,Pieris japonica, in winter to a deciduous shrub,Lyonia elliptica, in summer. In contrast, in Nara park where fewL. elliptica were available, the bug exploited onlyP. japonica. Thus, seasonal host alternation by this bug is not obligate. A comparison of adult longevity and fecundity on the two host-plant species demonstrated the higher quality ofL. elliptica as a food resource. Corresponding to this difference in host quality, there was a dramatic difference in the seasonal population growth in the two study sites. In Nara, the population size at the beginning of the 2nd generation was almost the same as in the overwintered generation, whereas in Kyoto the population size in the 2nd generation was approximately one hundred times as large as in the overwintered generation. Thus seasonal host alternation is adaptive for the bug. In a previous study, I reported that overwintering as eggs in living leaves of their hosts is likely to be common among all the related species of this bug. Thus, this trait can be considered to be a phylogenetic constraint to the group. I speculate that host alternation by this bug has been derived because it is more adaptive from autoecy on an evergreen plant, similar to the pattern currently found in Nara, and that this bug can not only exploit deciduous host due to a phylogenetic constraint.