ABSTRACT
Crucifer feeding specialists within the Chrysomelidae family can be found mainly in the subfamilies of Chrysomelinae and Alticinae. Nearly all the species of Phyllotreta within Alticinae feed on crucifers or related genera of Resedaceae and Capparaceae. Oligophagy is a characteristic feature of Phyllotreta species but some species are monophagous. Under natural conditions Phyllotreta armoraciae (Koch, 1803) is considered as a monophagous species feeding only on horseradish (Armoracia lapathifolia Usteri). Ph. armoraciae is in fact not monophagous under laboratory conditions. It feeds on several cruciferous plants to the same extent as on horseradish. In our investigation we tried to clarify the host plant selection of Hungarian populations of Ph. armoraciae. Under laboratory conditions no consumption of Capsella bursa-pastoris (L.) Medic., Arabis sp. and Alyssum saxatile L. was observed even under stress conditions. Small amount of Brassica napus L. and Sinapis alba L. while appreciable amount of Barbarea vulgaris R. Br., Brassia nigra (L.) Koch and Alliaria petiolata (M. B.) Cavara et Grande were consumed. There was no significant difference in preference for Brassica nigra and Armoracia lapathifolia.
