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We examined the relationship between resource abundance and the feeding activity of phytophagous insects on three common island plants. The aim was to investigate the correlation between phytophagous insects’ abundance and availability of food and island geography. We collected 30,835 leaves from three tree species groups (Mallotus japonicus, Prunus species, and Quercus species) on 18 islands in southwest Korea. The number of plant resources for herbivores varied: the number of leaves per shoot was the highest in Mallotus, leaf weight and the water content per leaf was significantly lower in Quercus species. External feeding was higher for Prunus and Quercus species, whereas the internal feeding type was significantly higher for Quercus species. Geography (area and distance), elevation and food resource (elevation, number of plant species, and the forest cover rate) had a variable effect on phytophagous insects feeding activities: distance and the number of plant species were more explainable to the external feeding guild. In contrast, area and forest cover were more to the internal feeding guild.

In this study, we determined the complete mitochondrial genome of the invasive insect species Melanoplus differentialis captured in Korea. The complete mitochondrial genome of M. differentialis is 15,625 bp long and comprises 13 protein‐coding genes, two ribosomal RNA genes, and 22 transfer RNAs, with a GC ratio of 25.2%. In total, 353 SNPs and 11 INDEL regions (total length 67 bp) were found against the previously sequenced M. differentialis mitochondrial genome recorded as public genome data. The number of interspecific variations was greater than the number of intraspecific variations in this insect. Phylogenetic tree analysis showed that the mitochondrial genome clustered the Melanoplus clade with two previously reported Melanoplus sequences. However, the sequences were not divided at the species‐level clade possibly as a consequence of misidentification caused by an error in the public database. Our results extend the molecular database status of Melanoplus by providing a novel complete mitochondrial genome sequence for M. differentialis that could serve as reference for further molecular studies.

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