Behavioral Ecology of Oviposition-Site Selection in Herbivorous True Bugs

Optimal oviposition theory predicts that female herbivores will prefer to oviposit on those plants that maximize offspring performance, also known as the “mother knows best” paradigm. This is the general pattern within the insect order Lepidoptera with specialist diets and reduced larval mobility. In that context, mother’s decisions are crucial to the development of the offspring. In this review we discuss oviposition-site selection behavior by the Heteroptera, focusing on the particular traits of this taxon in comparison to the most studied holometabolous insects. This review takes a multitrophic perspective and focuses on three main factors affecting the behavioral ecology of oviposition-site selection in true bugs: 1) life-history characteristics of the bugs, including host plant specialization and mobility of larvae; 2) plant characteristics, including morphology and induced responses to feeding and oviposition and 3) interactions with natural enemies, including parasitoid foraging behavior and strategies of bugs to interfere with the activity of parasitoids. New insights to the “mother knows best” paradigm of the behavioral ecology of oviposition-site selection by insects are provided by comparing the oviposition decisions displayed by true bugs with those of the well-studied Lepidoptera. The review ends with the identification of questions to be addressed in future studies on the behavioral ecology of oviposition by insects