Abstract:By focusing on 8 host plant species including peach, plum, cherry plum, apricot, apple, pear, cherry and hawthorn, we investigated the feeding, oviposition and population dynamics of Didesmococcus koreanus in the fields. The fitness of host plants to D. koreanus was quantitatively measured with selective index (SI), damage index (DI) and preference index (PI). Moreover, index of population trend (I) was used as an important estimate for the influence of host plants on the natural population of D. koreanus. The results indicated that, under all three types of plant growing conditions, the order of fitness was peach, plum, cherry plum, apricot, apple, pear, cherry and hawthorn. The fitness of 8 host plants, presenting as a normal distribution, were consistently the best in June with a good growing condition ~ inferior medium growing condition~weak condition pattern. D. koreanus preferred to feed and oviposit on peach, plum, cherry plum and apricot, where they featured higher survival, eclosion and hatched rates and more rapid nymphae increase, and also higher values for other four indexes (SI value>0.875, PI value>5.469, I value>5.75, DI value>1.049). According to the fitness indexes, the host plants of D. koreanus may be divided into three categories, with peach, plum, cherry plum and apricot as the most suitable, apple, pear and cherry the suitable, and hawthorn the least suitable category. With the best linear regression equation of PI= -0.3389+DI, there was an obvious linear relation between PI, SI and DI(r0.01=0.937). Measuring and scanning showed that there was a significant negative correlation (r0.01 = -0.976) between fitness and the epicuticle hair numbers, hair length, epidermis thickness and branch diameter. The feeding and oviposition have been controlled by the physical characteristics of branches. Compared to the most suitable hosts, the epicuticle hair numbers, hair length, epidermis thickness and branch diameter of hawthorn were, respectively, 2.73、3.27、2.77 and 3.47 times higher. Above results may provide clues for resistance breeding, forecasting and optimizing control strategies.