Behavioral traits often differ among individuals and are expressed consistently over time and across situations (i.e., personality). Personality can co-vary as behavioral syndromes and has been shown to affect foraging behavior. One consequence of personality is that in a given landscape varying in food quality and predation risk, individual animals will perceive and value patches within that landscape differently. These different perceptions will shape how to deal with food and fear.
In this study, we focused on feeding behavior among different food types and predator-avoidance behavior of the willow leaf beetle, Plagiodera versicolora. Our goal was to examine a behavioral syndrome in the two behavioral traits, and to examine genetic variation in a personality in the behavioral syndrome. We found the intraspecific variation in feeding choice behavior and the activity in predator-avoidance behavior. A genetic correlation between the two behavioral traits was detected. The positive correlation shapes personality between a sensitive-type and non-sensitive type, which could not constrain but reasonably maintain among-individual variability under food and fear landscape. Moreover, this personality linked with the usage of novel host species, suggesting this personality may be able to be a reservoir for host expansion potential for a drastic change of environments.