“…Natural enemies have been reared on C. brasiliense to support pest management programs for this plant and to study their spatial distribution within individual trees. Some hypotheses were advanced to explain the different levels of insect abundance and diversity and include the following: 1) environments with increased complexity increase the diversity of herbivorous species associated with a host plant and, generally, decrease their abundance (Auslander, Nevo, & Inbar, 2003;Lazo, Valdes, Sampaio, & Leite, 2007); 2) host plants attributes, such as complex architecture, increase the diversity and abundance of herbivorous insects (Espírito-Santo, Neves, Andrade-Neto, & Fernandes, 2007;Leite et al, 2011c;2012c;; and 3) soil characteristics that favor trees indirectly effect the abundance of herbivorous insects (e.g. nutritional quality) (Auslander et al, 2003;Espírito-Santo et al, 2007;Leite et al, 2011d;2012c;.…”