The importance of mutualism is receiving more attention in community ecology. In this study, the fire ant Solenopsis invicta was found to take advantage of the shelters constructed by the leaf roller Sylepta derogata to protect mealybugs (Phenacoccus solenopsis) against their natural enemies. This protective effect of fire ant tending on the survival of mealybugs in shelters was observed when e...

during a survey on pistachio, pistacia vera l., pests in isfahan, iran, in 2015, some lepidopteran larvae living and feeding inside galls of the wrinkling pistachio aphid, forda hirsuta mordv., were observed. after laboratory rearing of these larvae, the moths were identified as altenia mersinella (staudinger, 1879) (lep.: gelechiidae) by the third author. this species has previously been repor...

A wide variety of insect herbivores construct and inhabit leaf shelters (ties, rolls, folds, and webs). Shelter construction can lead to a high rate of secondary occupation by other arthropods, including other species of constructors. The consequences for the inhabitants of secondarily occupying these shelters are currently unknown. In this study, we conducted field experiments to examine the f...

1. Secondary colonization of leaf shelters constructed by caterpillars has been reported from a number of systems. Both the mechanism (larval or adult movement vs. oviposition) and the cues used by arthropods in locating leaf shelters, however, have received little attention. 2. Artificial leaf shelters (i.e. leaf ties or pairs of leaves clipped together to form sandwiches) were constructed on ...

Behavioural novelties observed in adult leaf beetles of two new Orthaltica Crotch species include: 1) the use of low cost leaf-hole shelters, either in pre-formed holes produced by larger beetles that fed on the same leaf, or artificially created holes as part of an experiment; and 2) the use of faeces to partition the hole. Two new southern Indian species of the genus Orthaltica are described ...

Growth and water relations of Kentucky coffee tree [Gymnocladus dioica (L.) K. Koch] whips in translucent tubelike shelters were investigated. In a container study, 1.2m-high shelters were placed over whips following transplanting, then diurnal microclimate, water relations, and water use were measured. Shelter air temperature and vapor pressure were substantially higher, and solar radiation wa...

The masked birch caterpillar, Drepana arcuata (Lepidoptera: Drepanidae) is an excellent model for studying vibratory communication and sociality in larval insects. Vibratory communication occurs throughout development, but the functions of signals are reported to change as larvae change from gregarious to solitary lifestyles. To better understand the sensory ecology of these caterpillars, it is...

Partial life histories of 24 Hesperiinae incertae sedis that feed on Dicotyledons are described and illustrated. The genera dealt with are: Acada, Acleros, Andronymus, Fresna, Gorgyra, Melphinyet, Meza, Paronymus, Parosmodes, Platylesches, and Teniorhinus. The food plants of Gorgyra (mainly Connaraceae), Melphinyet (Euphorbiaceae) and Platylesches (Chrysobalanaceae) stand out as clearly distinc...

Leaf-tying caterpillars act as ecosystem engineers by building shelters between overlapping leaves, which are inhabited by other arthropods. Leaf-tiers have been observed to leave their ties and create new shelters (and thus additional microhabitats), but the ecological factors affecting shelter fidelity are poorly known. For this study, we explored the effects of resource limitation and occupa...

Plant chemical defenses can negatively affect insect herbivore fitness, but they can also decrease herbivore palatability to predators or decrease parasitoid fitness, potentially changing selective pressures on both plant investment in production of chemical defenses and host feeding behavior. Larvae of the fern moth Herpetogramma theseusalis live in and feed upon leaf shelters of their own con...