Enemies Hypothesis: A Review of the Effect of Vegetational Diversity on Predatory Insects and Parasitoids

Abstract

The enemies hypothesis holds that predatory insects and parasitoids are more effective at controlling populations of herbivores in diverse systems of vegetation than in simple ones. Eighteen studies that tested the enemies hypothesis are reviewed. Of those studies reporting mortality from predation or parasitism, nine found higher mortality rates in diverse systems; two found a lower mortality rate; and two found no difference. The mechanisms that are thought to underlie the enemies hypothesis and directions for future research are discussed. Evidence suggests that the enemies hypothesis and the resource concentration hypothesis (which predicts that herbivores more easily find, stay in, and reproduce in monocultures of host plants than in polycultures) are complementary mechanisms in reducing numbers of herbivores in diverse agricultural systems.