Host plant shifting of phytophagous insects can lead to the formation of host associated differentiation and ultimately speciation. In some cases, host plant specificity alone acts as a nearly complete pre-mating isolating barrier among insect populations. We here test whether effective pre-mating isolation and host-independent behavioral isolation have evolved under the condition of extreme ho...

It has been shown that many insects have Enterobacteriaceae bacteria in their gut system. The western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis Pergande [Thysanoptera: Thripidae], has a symbiotic relation with Erwinia species gut bacteria. To determine if other Thripidae species have similar bacterial symbionts, the onion thrips, Thrips tabaci, was studied because, like F. occidentalis, it is p...

Larvae of most butterfly species feed on a limited number of host species belonging to a single plant family. The choice of host plants is determined both at the egg-laying and larval-feeding stages (Schoonhoven et al., 1998). The choice of oviposition site by an adult female is crucial to the survival of their offspring, and thus the mother butterflies lay their eggs with great precision on th...

Coevolution between parasites and hosts or predators and prey often involves multiple species with similar kinds of defenses and counter-defenses. Classic examples include the interactions between phytophagous insects and their host plants, thick-shelled invertebrates and their shell-crushing predators, and ungulates and their predators. There are three major hypotheses for the nonequilibrium c...

The development of non-invasive molecular techniques is currently increasing, particularly in the fields of behavioural ecology and conservation genetics of mammals. Surprisingly, genetic studies of Arthropods and particularly the insects have not benefited yet from the contributions that non-invasive methods have made. Here, we outline a strategy for identifying phytophagous insect genetic ent...

Environ. Enlomol. 12: 2%-298 (1983) ABSTRACT Sweep-nel sampling and pilfalllrapping were used 10 survey insects in weedy and weedfree soybean habitals. Weedy soybean habitats consisted of (I) grassy soybeans; (2) soybeans with broadleaf weeds; and (3) soybeans with broadleaf weeds and grasses. Insect species diversity was greater in weedy soybean habitats than in weed-free soybeans. Greatest di...

Although many species of tumbling ßower beetles (Coleoptera: Mordellidae) are common and abundant, little is known of their life histories. Larvae of most species seem to be phytophagous, and acts of predation are considered rare and accidental. In this study, we dissected host plants of the endophytic mordellid Mordellistena aethiops Smith and subjected plant and insect samples to stable isoto...

Tephritid fruit flies are a diverse group of phytophagous insects within Diptera with more than 4000 described species. Some tephritids have been thoroughly studied due to their economic importance. Nevertheless, Tephritidae includes numerous species and entire subfamilies that are harmless to man and that in some cases have been beneficial (weed biocontrol agents). Tephritids are acalypterate ...

The planthopper superfamily Fulgoroidea (Insecta: Hemiptera) is one of the most dominant groups of phytophagous insects. It comprises about 20 families, containing a total of 9000 species worldwide. Despite several recent studies, the phylogeny of Fulgoroidea is not yet satisfactorily resolved and the phylogenetic positions of several key families, especially Cixiidae, Delphacidae, Tettigometri...

Understanding the genetics behind adaptation and reproductive isolation contributes to our knowledge about how biodiversity is created and maintained. Host races of phytophagous insects are host-associated ecotypes and have been considered as candidates for ecological speciation, but very little is known about the genetic backgrounds of host adaptations. A leaf-mining moth, Acrocercops transect...