Host-plant leaf-surface preferences of young caterpillars of three species of Pieris (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) and its effect on parasitism by the gregarious parasitoid Cotesia glomerata (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)

Preferences of young caterpillars of three species of Pieris (P. rapae crucivora Boisduval, P. melete Ménétriès, and P. napi japonica Shirôzu) (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) for the upper and lower surfaces of the leaves of their host plants (Brassicaceae) were investigated in the laboratory. On horseradish Armoracia rusticana Gaertn. Mey. et Scherb., which was provided as a common food for three species…