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Q&A

Plant-Insect Ecosystems

Student Competition Poster

Grad P-IE: Behavior and Ecology

D3040: Viral transmission and life stage mortality of Baltimore checkerspots (Euphydryas phaeton: Nymphalidae) on a native vs. introduced host plant

Monday, November 1, 2021
9:00 AM – 6:30 PM MT
Location:: Exhibit Hall F
Student Competition In-Person Poster

    Presenting Author(s)

  • TC

    Tara Christensen

    Graduate student
    University of Nevada, Reno
    Reno, Nevada, United States

    • Co-Author(s)

  • DL

    Denali G. Lowder

    Lab Technician
    University of Nevada
    Reno, Nevada, United States

  • Angela M. Smilanich

    Associate Professor
    University of Nevada, Reno
    Reno, Nevada, United States

  • LD

    Lee Dyer

    University of Nevada Reno
    Reno, Nevada, United States

  • Adrian L. Carper

    Research Associate
    University of Colorado Boulder
    Boulder, Colorado, United States

  • DB

    Deane Bowers

    Professor
    University of Colorado
    Boulder, Colorado, United States

  • MT

    Michael Teglas

    University of Nevada
    Reno, Nevada, United States

  • MF

    Matthew Forister

    University of Nevada
    Reno, Nevada, United States

  • Paul Hurtado

    Assistant Professor
    University of Nevada, Reno
    Reno, Nevada, United States

Understanding disease dynamics in insects is fundamental to comprehending the full spectrum of their ecological interactions, population dynamics, and conservation management. Densoviruses (family: Parvoviridae) are known to be responsible for epizootic events, and have been identified in a wide breadth of insect taxa, and consist of small single-stranded DNA genomes. Junonia coenia densovirus (JcDV) was first discovered in the buckeye butterfly (Junonia coenia: Nymphalidae) and has since been shown to be pathogenic in various other lepidopteran lineages. Here, I will discuss research I have been conducting with Baltimore checkerspots, Euphydryas phaeton, and the transmission of JcDV throughout their life cycle, and on differing host plants of native (Chelone glabra) and exotic (Plantago lanceolata) origins with differing chemical profiles. To better understand the rates of horizontal and vertical transmission, as well as survivability on the differing host plants, we took second generation lab-reared egg masses and assigned them to a host plant treatment. Individuals were orally inoculated with JcDV at a frequency of 20%, then overwintered in clusters and mortality was recorded at each life stage. Individuals who reach adulthood were mated, and their offspring tested for vertical viral transmission at fourth instar. Results will be presented showing the extent that the virus spread in overwintering clusters, and how much of the mortality can be attributed to the virus for each host plant treatment. These results shed light on the ecological importance of host plants in contributing to disease resistance and ultimately insect population dynamics.