Abstract: 【Aim】 To study the feeding behavior of Phenacoccus solenopsis during host shift for evaluating its host adaptability. 【Methods】 Feeding behavior of the solenopsis mealybug was quantitatively analyzed by electronic penetration graph (EPG) technique to evaluate its resource utilization efficiency when transferred to a novel host. 【Results】 During host shift, feeding behavior were significantly affected, including more time needed to reach phloem, less total feeding time, and lower ingestion efficiency. The next generation adults on the transferred host, however, showed increased ingestion efficiency, together with similar feeding behavior as their mothers before host shift, including the total number and time of probes, time of feeding and the efficiency to reach phloem. 【Conclusion】 High plasticity of feeding behavior is advantageous for P. solenopsis to adapt the transferred host and should be beneficial to expand its host range, which is supposed to be one reason that P. solenopsis would be an important agricultural invasive pest.

Key words: Phenacoccus solenopsis, feeding behavior, electronic penetration graph (EPG), invasiveness, host shift, host adaptation