Data from: Population growth of native and invasive strains of the larger grain borer, Prostephanus truncatus on three maize hybrids

Insects
Two different populations of Prostephanus truncatus were used in the bioassays, one originated from the invaded range in Ghana, and the other from the native range in Mexico. Both populations were maintained in the Laboratory of Entomology and Agricultural Zoology (LEAZ), at the Department of Agriculture, Crop Production and Rural Environment, University of Thessaly, Greece, on whole maize kernels, at 26°C and 55% relative humidity (RH) and continuous darkness.
European Maize Hybrids
Three different maize hybrids (“PICO”, “HAMILTON”, and “AGN 672”) were obtained from American Genetics SA, Sindos, Greece. All hybrids were cultivated at Serres, in northern Greece according to the local farming practices. The hybrid “PICO” has a great production potential and it is adapted to multiple soil types and can produce high-weight grain. The hybrid “HAMILTON” is a dual-purpose hybrid, that has excellent early vigor and it is tolerant to fungi, and the hybrid “AGN 672” has excellent early vigor and it is also tolerant to fungi.
Population Growth on Different Maize Hybrids
Three different maize hybrids (PICO, Hamilton, and AGN 672) were used for experimentation. These hybrids were untreated and uninfested, and kept at ambient conditions until the beginning of the experiments. Before proceeding with the bioassays, grain moisture content (M.C.) was assessed, using a moisture meter (mini-GAC plus, Dickey-John Europe S.A.S., Colombes, France). Standardized plastic vials as in prior work (Quellhorst et al. 2023; Lampiri et al. 2022) were used here (3 cm in diameter, 8 cm in height). Vials were then filled with 20 g of one of the three maize hybrids with lids added after. The commodity was weighed with a Precisa XB3200D compact balance (Alpha Analytical Instruments, Gerakas, Greece). The upper rings of the vials were treated with Fluon (Northern Products Inc., Woonsocket, USA) to prevent insects from moving away from the grain and/or escaping. The top of each vial also had small holes punched to allow ventilation. Each vial then received 10 P. truncatus adults of mixed sex and age from one of two different strains. Two different populations of P. truncatus were used as mentioned above. The vials were placed inside incubators set at 30°C and 65% R.H. in continuous darkness. The vials were removed from the incubators after 45 d and adult progeny production was recorded. We also recorded the weight of frass, the number of insect-damaged kernels (IDK), and the total weight of the kernels within each vial. For each combination, i.e. hybrid × strain, there were n = 9 replicates.

昆虫
本生物测定实验使用两个不同种群的大谷蠹（Prostephanus truncatus），其中一个种群源自加纳的入侵分布区域，另一个种群源自墨西哥的原生分布区域。两个种群均饲养于希腊色萨利大学农业、作物生产与农村环境系的昆虫学与农业动物学实验室（Laboratory of Entomology and Agricultural Zoology, LEAZ），饲养基质为完整玉米粒，饲养条件为26℃、相对湿度（Relative Humidity, RH）55%、持续黑暗。

欧洲玉米杂交种
本实验选用3个不同的玉米杂交种："PICO"、"HAMILTON"与"AGN 672"，均购自希腊辛都斯的美国遗传公司（American Genetics SA）。所有杂交种均按照当地农业耕作规范，在希腊北部塞雷斯地区种植。其中，杂交种"PICO"具备优异的产量潜力，适配多种土壤类型，可产出高千粒重的籽粒；杂交种"HAMILTON"为双用途杂交种，早期生长活力极强且耐真菌侵染；杂交种"AGN 672"同样拥有出色的早期生长活力，且对真菌具有耐受性。

不同玉米杂交种上的种群生长实验
本实验采用前述3个玉米杂交种开展相关研究。所有杂交种均未经过药剂处理且未被虫害侵染，于室温环境下保存至实验开始前。实验开始前，使用迷你GAC plus型水分测定仪（Dickey-John Europe S.A.S., 法国科隆布）测定籽粒含水量（Moisture Content, M.C.）。实验容器采用参考既往研究（Quellhorst等，2023；Lampiri等，2022）的标准化塑料培养瓶，规格为直径3cm、高8cm。每个培养瓶内装入20g对应杂交种的玉米粒，随后加盖密封。样品称量使用Precisa XB3200D紧凑型天平（Alpha Analytical Instruments, 希腊耶拉卡斯）完成。培养瓶上部环边经氟隆（Fluon, Northern Products Inc., 美国伍兹塞德）处理，以防止昆虫脱离玉米粒或逃逸；每个培养瓶顶部还钻有若干小孔以保障通风。随后，每个培养瓶接入10头混合性别与年龄的大谷蠹成虫，虫源为前述两个种群之一。培养瓶被放置于设置为30℃、相对湿度65%、持续黑暗的培养箱中。45天后取出培养瓶，记录成虫后代的数量；同时测定每个培养瓶内的虫粪重量、虫蛀籽粒数（insect-damaged kernels, IDK）以及籽粒总重量。每个杂交种-种群组合设置9次生物学重复（n=9）。