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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Behavioral and Physiological Aspects of Self-Selection by the Corn Earworm, Heliothis Zea
Abstract
dc:descriptionLarvae of the corn earworm, Heliothis zea (Boddie) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), prefer to feed on corn silks as early instars but change their feeding preference to corn kernels as they mature. Within the corn kernel, final instar larvae prefer to feed on germ but will always eat some of the endosperm. In the laboratory, germ-fed larvae grow more efficiently than endosperm-feeders, eating less food and completing the final stadium somewhat sooner. However, larvae that feed on endosperm live much longer as adults and produce more eggs in their lifetime than do adults from germ-fed larvae. Thus, in nature, corn earworm larvae strike a balance between larval and adult needs by ingesting entire kernels.
Degree
thesis:*- Name thesis:degree_name
- Ph.D.
- Level thesis:degree_level
- Dissertation
- Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
- Entomology
- Grantor
- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Year dc:date
- 2014
Author and committee
dc:creator, dc:contributor.*- Author dc:creator
-
- Cohen, Randy Wade
Subjects
dc:subject × 1Identifiers
dc:identifier.*- Identifier
- (UMI)AAI8721613
- OAI identifier oai:identifier
- oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/71103