Does Size Matter? Fecundity and Longevity of Symmetrischema lavernella

The adult performance including fecundity and longevity in Symmetrischema lavernella, which is a small moth in the Gelechiidae family, was observed. The plant hosts for this moth are those in the genus Physalis (Solanaceae). S. lavernella has two different feeding strategies resulting in budworms who are individuals that feed off of flower buds and frugivores who are individuals who feed off fruit. Frugivores generally grow to be 33% larger budworms (Cruz-Maysonet, 2014). In many insects it has been proven that bigger is in fact better when it comes to adult performance. In the case of S. lavernella there was no significant relationship between body size and fecundity.

本研究对麦蛾科（Gelechiidae）小型蛾类拉氏对称蛾（Symmetrischema lavernella）的成虫性能（涵盖繁殖力与寿命）开展了观察。该蛾类的寄主植物为茄科（Solanaceae）酸浆属（Physalis）物种。拉氏对称蛾存在两种取食策略，可产生两类幼虫：一类为取食花芽的幼虫（budworms），另一类为取食果实的幼虫（frugivores）。食果型幼虫的体型通常较花芽取食型幼虫大33%（Cruz-Maysonet, 2014）。在多数昆虫类群中，“体型更大对应更优成虫性能”的结论已得到证实，但就拉氏对称蛾而言，其成虫体型大小与繁殖力之间并未存在显著相关性。