To elucidate the feeding habits of adult female Italian locust Calliptamus italicus across vari-ous developmental stages and their foraging strategies in natural settings,the Yamalik Mountain region in Urumqi,Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region,was designated as the study area in 2021. Crop micro-analysis was employed to assess their feeding selectivity,delineate the differences in feeding behaviors at distinct developmental phases,and unveil their feeding strategies through functional ecological niche analysis. The results showed that,under natural conditions,female adults consumed 21 plant species from eight families. Notably,during the initial developmental phase of ovary maturation,only 11 spe-cies were recorded,with the number of species consumed gradually increasing to 13,17,and 18 during stages Ⅲ,Ⅳ,and Ⅴ,respectively. The most active foraging by female adults occurred at stage Ⅲ of ovarial development,with eight species,followed by a decline to seven and six species during stages IV and V,respectively. Calliptamus italicus predominantly fed on dicotyledonous plants from the Asterace-ae and Chenopodiaceae families,with a particular preference for Artemisia sieversiana,Seriphidium kaschgaricum,and Bassia prostrata. The consumption of carbon (C),nitrogen (N),and phosphorus (P) peaked during stage Ⅳ of ovarial development. The selection index of female adults for plants showed a significant correlation with the P content,C:P ratio,and N:P ratio of the plants. The results indicated that the selection of plants by female adults was influenced by the P content,while the C and N content of the plants did not directly affect the selection,and the P content of the plants indirectly influenced the in-take of C and N content by adult females.
维普
万方数据
