Abstract: Ceracris kiangsu is one of major defoliators in the bamboo distribution area in southern China. To aim at understanding the relationship between occurrence of the pest and host plants, we tested the feeding preference towards 9 bamboo species belonging to 7 genera, and determined the contents of palatable chemicals (soluble sugar, soluble protein, tannins and silicon) and nutrient elements (N, P, K, Na, Ca and Mg) in the 9 bamboo species. Also, the effects of leaf chemicals on feeding preference for C. kiangsu were analyzed. The results showed that C. kiangsu had significant feeding preference on different bamboo species (P<0.001), and the nine bamboos could be classified into two groups, ‘preferred host’ and ‘acceptable host’. The preferred host group only included Phyllostachys edulis. Nine variables including moisture content, total nitrogen content, phosphorus content, sodium content, calcium content, magnesium content, silicon content, soluble sugar content and total tannins content improved a stepwise discriminant model to predict feeding preference of C. kiangsu, and total nitrogen content, phosphorus content, sodium content and total tannins content might be the most important factors. Our findings proved that plant palatability and nutrient level were closely related to the feeding preference of the phytophagous insect, and the contents of nutrient elements as N, P, and Na in bamboo lea-ves were an important reason for host selection of C. kiangsu. Our results provided scientific reference for further studies on the health management of bamboo forests and the host selection of C. kiangsu.

Key words: Calamagrostis angustifolia wetland, nitrogen deposition, greenhouse gas