DOI: 10.5061/dryad.7m0cfxq77
title: Plant oviposition preferences in a generalist herbivore: Tests of host plant selection and the Hopkins’ host selection principle

description: Why and how herbivorous insects choose to feed on some plant species and
 not others can be influenced by many factors, including an insect’s
 physiological state, individual preferences, or the abundance of the host
 plants in the environment. Yet, it is not always clear why herbivorous
 insect species will choose to lay their eggs on some plants over others.
 The Hopkins’ host selection principle (hereafter HHSP) hypothesizes that
 female insects prefer to lay eggs on host plants upon which they fed as
 larvae, but there are studies that both support and refute the hypothesis.
 Here, we test HHSP in a dietary generalist moth, fall webworm (Hyphantria
 cunea, hereafter FW). Previously, local host plant abundance has been the
 only factor found to determine FW host plant use; whether FW exhibit
 individual host plant preferences is unknown. We tested for HHSP in FW by
 conducting preference tests with females of the two FW morphotypes
 (red-head and black-head), presenting females with the same four host
 plants: their one natal host plant, two other potential host plants, and
 one non-host plant for that morphotype that is a host plant for the other
 morphotype. Overwhelmingly, females of both the red-head and black-head
 morphotypes oviposited on a non-plant surface in the choice arena rather
 than any plant (89% and 83%, respectively). When female FW did oviposit on
 a plant, they did not oviposit on hosts more often than non-hosts. Of the
 few FW females that oviposited on a host plant, neither morphotype showed
 preference for their natal hosts and thus we found no support for HHSP.
 Our results support previous findings that HHSP is not a driver of host
 plant selection, suggesting that female FW are not selective in their
 choice of host plants, which can facilitate generalism in this species.
description: # Plant oviposition preferences in a generalist herbivore: Tests of host
 plant selection and the Hopkins’ host selection principle Dataset DOI:
 [10.5061/dryad.7m0cfxq77](10.5061/dryad.7m0cfxq77) ## Description of the
 data and file structure Data collected while conducting oviposition
 preference tests for fall webworm (*Hyphantria cunea*) moths were given
 four host plant options. ### Files and variables #### File:
 Ovipos_Data_Analysis2025.xlsx **Description:** Data for successful
 preference tests where females made an oviposition choice ##### Variables
 * mating_round: ID for preference test * cup_type: whether plants were in
 an Aquapik in a cup (c) or without a cup (nc) or a tall cup (tc) *
 dorm_shoe: whether preference test was in a dorm or shoebox *
 female_number: name assigned to moth female * morphotype: red or black
 fall webworm morphotype * female_host: female's natal host *
 species_choice: plant species choice if female laid on a plant, or NA if
 no plant chosen * choice_type: whether plant was a non-host, natal host,
 or host * artificial_or_plant: whether female oviposited on a plant or
 artificial surface ## Code/software We used R studio environment version
 R.4.4.3 for all analyses and used the binom.test and chisq.test functions
 from the stats package. The associated code is not included here, but
 those interested may reach out to the corresponding author if they wish to
 access it.