A General Model for Host Plant Selection in Phytophagous Insects

✍ Scribed by STUART A. WEST; J. PAUL CUNNINGHAM

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2002
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 410 KB
• Volume: 214
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0022-5193
• DOI: 10.1006/jtbi.2001.2475

✦ Synopsis

We develop a general theoretical framework for exploring the host plant selection behaviour of herbivorous insects. This model can be used to address a number of questions, including the evolution of specialists, generalists, preference hierarchies, and learning. We use our model to: (i) demonstrate the consequences of the extent to which the reproductive success of a foraging female is limited by the rate at which they "nd host plants (host limitation) or the number of eggs they carry (egg limitation); (ii) emphasize the di!erent consequences of variation in behaviour before and after landing on (locating) a host (termed pre-and post-alighting, respectively); (iii) show that, in contrast to previous predictions, learning can be favoured in post-alighting behaviour*in particular, individuals can be selected to concentrate oviposition on an abundant low-quality host, whilst ignoring a rare higher-quality host; (iv) emphasize the importance of interactions between mechanisms in favouring specialization or learning.