The oviposition preference of Leucoptera coffeella is not determined by the cultivar of Coffea arabica, but it may influence some traits of its offspring performance

The coffee leaf miner, Leucoptera coffeella (Guérin-Méneville), is one of the main pests of coffee (Coffea spp.) in the Neotropical region. Leucoptera coffeella is considered a specialist insect because it develops exclusively within the leaves of the genus Coffea. In this laboratory study, we investigated the oviposition preference and performance of L. coffeella on the coffee leaf rust (Hemileia vastatrix Berkeley & Broome)-susceptible C. arabica cultivars “Red Catuai”, “Red Caturra”, and “Typica”, and resistant cultivars “Costa Rica 95”, “Oro Azteca”, and “IAPAR 59”. Individual (non-choice) and group (multiple-choice) leaves of these cultivars were exposed to mated individual L. coffeella females and the number of eggs laid per leaf was recorded. Oviposition preference was found to be indistinct among the coffee cultivars evaluated. However, larvae and pupal period, and adult body length were significantly affected by the coffee cultivar. These results are discussed in relation to the preference-performance hypothesis and its impact on L. coffeella’s strategy to choose the host plant.