Adult attractiveness and oviposition preference of Zabrotes subfasciatus toward genotypes of common bean Phaseolus vulgaris

The Mexican bean weevil Zabrotes subfasciatus (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Bruchinae) is among the key pests of common bean Phaseolus vulgaris L. around the world. Identifying resistance sources and the resistance types involved is important for development of pest-resistant bean varieties. This study assessed the adult attractiveness and oviposition preference of Z. subfasciatus toward eight genotypes of common bean, including seven pre-selected resistant genotypes and one standard for susceptibility. Attraction to the genotypes was assessed at one and four days after infestation. Oviposition preference was tested under free- and no-choice (confinement) conditions. We observed that IAC 853 was the least oviposited genotype in the free-choice test. However, this finding was not confirmed by the no-choice test. Therefore, IAC 853 could not be characterized as resistant to Z. subfasciatus. Presence of the toxic protein arcelin does not appear to influence host selection by Z. subfasciatus.