Influence of Adult Diet on Damage to Corn by Larvae of the Western Corn Rootworm Diabrotica virgifera virgifera (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

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Abstract
Corn plots were infested with eggs (infestation rates of 300, 600, and 1,200 eggs per 30.5-cm row) from Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte adults that had been fed either an artificial dry diet or natural foods (e.g., corn leaves, corn). Larvae produced from eggs of females fed artificial diet caused significantly greater damage to corn roots at the 300- and 600-egg rates and the same amount of damage at the 1,200-egg rate as larvae from females fed natural diet. The relationship of yield loss with infestation rate was the same for both diets; however, yield was reduced significantly more by larvae descended from females fed artificial diet. Selection of a diet for adults should be considered as a factor that may influence potential damage by larval descendants in experiments using an artificial infestation technique.

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