REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF FEMALE HOMALODISCA COAGULATA

• Author(s): Peng, Christine; Zalom, Frank; Hummel, Natalie; Toscano, Nick;
• Abstract: Female and male GWSS have been collected from July 2001 to October 2003, at monthly or bimonthly intervals, from citrus hosts at UC Riverside Ag Operations. A sub-sample of 10 females per month was dissected to determine ovary rank of the specimens collected. Dissections of these female specimens revealed repeated patterns related to the proportion of previtellogenic females in the field. These patterns indicated 2 distinct generations each year with a possible third generation late in the season. The results are currently being compared to patterns observed in samples from Tulare County, California. A host plant study, completed in the summer 2002 in which adult male and female Homalodisca coagulata were caged on grape, citrus, and oleander, has suggested differences in female fecundity and offspring survival. SEM and TEM studies are in progress in order to describe both sensory structures on the ovipositor and the process of vitellogenesis.
• Publication Date: Aug 2003
• Journal: 2003 Pierce's Disease Research Symposium