DIFFERENTIAL SETTLING BY MYZUS-PERSICAE (HOMOPTERA, APHIDIDAE) ON VARIOUS VIRUS-INFECTED HOST PLANTS

We examined temporal patterns of settling by apterous Myzus persicae S ulzer on leaves of 3 host plant species that were virus-free or infect ed with potato leafroll virus (PLRV),potato virus X (PVX), or potato v irus Y (PW). A 60-h exposure period to the choice of leaves was provid ed in a cylindrical Plexiglas arena that allowed repeated observations through time without disturbance to the aphids. Significantly greater numbers of apterae settled on PLRV-infected Solanum tuberosum (L.) le aves compared with PVX- or PW-infected leaves, or virus-free leaves. N o significant differences among the same virus treatments were observe d when the plant hosts were Physalis floridana Rybd. or Datura stramon ium (L.) Significant treatment by time effects were observed in the S. tuberosum and D. stramonium experiments only. Nymph counts on the var ious leaf treatments at the end of experiments corroborated overall pa tterns of apterae settling. In light of previous work demonstrating th e superior performance of M. persicae on PLRV-infected S. tuberosum pl ants, the current findings are discussed with regard to the nature of the association between M. persicae and the circulative virus PLRV rel ative to either the stylet-borne virus PW or the nonvectored virus PVX .