Effects of Fruit Sizes of Two Camellia Trees on the Larval Sizes of Curculio styracis (Roelofs, 1875): Testing the Endoparasitoid Body Size Hypothesis

SIMPLE SUMMARY: In endoparasitoids that feed within small discrete resource patches, such as seeds or fruits, body size could be subject to a trade-off: larger size could lead to increased overall fitness but could simultaneously increase the risk of resource depletion and starvation, resulting in a body size just below the host holding capacity. We analyzed the relationship of the larval size of the within-fruits-developing curculionid beetle Curculio styracis (Roelofs, 1875) and the size of the fruits of its two congeneric host species of Camellia to test this hypothesis. A logistic model can most accurately describe larval size in association with host-fruit size after a series of models were tested. Based on the characteristics of the optimal model, the hypothesis seemed to be confirmed because larvae that developed in host plant with larger fruits had a larger size, and larval size in both host species remained only a little below the host-fruit capacity. The novelty of the study is that this hypothesis is being tested in a more formal way using appropriate mathematical models. ABSTRACT: The endoparasitoid body size hypothesis suggests that the size of larvae that develop in a single host should be subject to a trade-off: larger size could lead to increase overall fitness but could simultaneously increase the risk of resource depletion and starvation, resulting in a body size just below the host holding capacity. However, this hypothesis has not been rigorously tested using mathematical models thus far. The camellia weevil, C. styracis (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is a notorious pest attacking fruits of Camellia oleifera Abel. and C. meiocarpa Hu., in which the larvae develop within a single fruit and larval development is limited by the available food resources. We developed a feasible method to test this hypothesis. First, five models were used to describe the relationship between larval mass and host size. Then, the minimum fruit threshold that had to be met for ad libitum larval development and the corresponding larval size (W(a)) of this threshold were calculated based on the characteristics of the optimal model. Finally, the difference between the measured larval size and the predicted larval size (W(a)) was determined. The results showed that (1) the data were better described by a logistic function than any other equation; (2) larval size in both host plants increased with increasing fruit size until leveling off when the fruits were large enough to allow unconstrained larval development; (3) larval size remained just below the host-fruit holding capacity, as there was no difference between the measured and predicted larval sizes (W(a)); and (4) larvae developed in host plant with larger fruits had a larger size. These results confirmed the endoparasitoid body size hypothesis.