The Abundance of Specialist and Generalist Lepidopteran Larvae on a Single Host Plant Species: Does Spatial Scale Matter?

Abstract

Specialist insects are more sensitive to spatial variations than generalists, which are able to exploit diverse hosts in various habitats. This study investigated whether specialist lepidopteran larvae feeding on a single host, Roupala montana Aubl. (Proteales: Proteaceae), maintain consistent abundance rates across spatial scales. We compared the abundance of specialist and generalist larvae at local and regional scales during the same period of collection, with equal sample efforts, and in the same type of vegetation, within a Brazilian savanna biome. Particularly, we focused on the following questions: Does spatial scale matter to the abundance of specialist larvae on a single host plant species? What is the relationship between the abundance of specialists and generalists among spatial scales? As predicted, in general, specialist larvae were present at higher densities on their specific host plants than generalists. However, we sought to learn how this abundance changed or did not change with spatial scale, as well as whether community similarity increased with spatial proximity. In this study, most larvae of specialist species on R. montana occurred at both local and regional scales, but they differed in abundance at different spatial scales. Moreover, although specialist larvae exhibited higher densities on R. montana than generalists, this pattern was not always consistent. The assemblage of larvae in neighboring areas showed greater mutual similarity, and there was a negative relationship between distance and similarity.

Incidence of two caterpillar species (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) and injuries caused by them in sweet basil grown in Seropédica County, RJ

“…In addition, H. opalizalis was more abundant than P. phoenicealis on O. basilicum in the present study. This result corroborates with Braga & Diniz (2015), who observed that, in general, larvae of specialist folivorous lepidopteran were present at higher densities on a single specific host plants (Roupala montana Aubl.) than generalist ones.…”

“…Thus, further studies should be conducted to investigate the potential of H. opalizalis and P. phoenicealis to become a pest of the sweet basil crop in Brazil, such as those that assess the biological parameters and degrees of specialization or polyphagia of these noctuid species at the population, community, and individual levels (Braga & Diniz 2015).…”

Trampeo masivo de Plutella xylostella: una alternativa ambiental y económicamente beneficiosa para su control en Costa Rica

“…Es importante considerar que si bien los resultados fueron en general positivos, existen una serie de factores que también pueden ser decisivos en el éxito del programa de manejo de la plaga. El tipo de suelo, la diversidad de las plantas asociadas, la amplitud de la dieta de los insectos plaga, la composición química y física de las plantas huésped, la abundancia de enemigos naturales, y los micro y macro climas presentes en cada área que influyen en la abundancia de la polilla en cada ciclo de cultivo y que se deben considerar para el control biorracional de la plaga [16][17][18] .…”

História natural e performance larval de Oospila pallidaria (Schaus, 1897) (Lepidoptera, Geometridae, Geometrinae): uma mariposa esmeralda do Cerrado

“…O conhecimento dessa diversidade é resultado principalmente de estudos com adultos como, por exemplo, listas de espécies e revisões taxonômicas (EMERY et al, 2006;FERRO;DINIZ, 2007;BOGIANI et al, 2012;SCHERRER et al, 2013). Sendo assim, há relativamente poucos estudos sobre os estágios imaturos dos Lepidoptera do Cerrado (e. g. MUNIZ et al, 2012;BÄCHTOLD et al, 2013;DINIZ et al, 2013;BRAGA;DINIZ, 2015).…”