Female host plant selection, oviposition behavior, and offspring performance of the gall-forming tephritid Aciurina trixa Curran (Diptera: Tephritidae) on NPK-fertilized and control plants of Chrysothamnus nauseosus hololeucus Pall. (Britton) (Asteraceae) were studied in northern Arizona, USA. There was no statistically significant difference in the proportion of females that selected control versus fertilized plants, and between the time to accept control versus treatment plants. Females laid fewer eggs and spent a longer time ovipositing on control plants than on treatment plants. Larval performance (measured as time of first gall appearance on plant, gall diameter, and larval weight) was not statistically different between fertilized and control plants (P > 0.05).
Insecta; Chrysothamnus nauseosus; insect galls; insect behavior; feeding preference
