Abstract
Alien phytophagous insects are often introduced along with their host plants, creating opportunities for troublesome invasions. Yet, not all of them are able to successfully colonize novel host plants. In this study, we investigated host selection by the alien leaf miner Phyllonorycter leucographella (Zeller, 1850) on both its original host and novel host plants in the insect's alien range. We predicted that this insect's percentage infestation of the original host would be positively related to its specific leaf area (SLA), because high-SLA leaves are nutritious and have thin cuticles, traits related to high offspring developmental success. We further hypothesized that this host selection process would apply in the selection of novel host plants. Our results show that this leaf miner selects leaves of its original host plant, Pyracantha coccinea, according to their SLA values. The SLA value was also positively related to the probability of P. leucographella infesting and successfully developing on novel host plants. The selection of high-SLA plants by the moth leads to a high developmental success on novel host plants in the first (summer) generation, but it is likely to be maladaptive in the second (overwintering) generation, because in temperate Europe, high SLA values are associated with deciduous plants that shed their leaves in autumn. It is likely that the apparent maladaptive selection of novel host plants by P. leucographella reduces the invasiveness of this pest by preventing its establishment on native plants.
Highlights
Transportation and international trade are two of the main drivers of the spread of alien species (Levine & D’Antonio, 2003; Hulme, 2009; Lenda et al, 2014)
The leaf miner P. leucographella selects leaves of P. coccinea according to their specific leaf area (SLA) values, and the percentage of leaves infested with this insect increases with leaf SLA
It appears that P. leucographella females prefer leaves with high SLA in order to increase the developmental success of their offspring
Summary
Transportation and international trade are two of the main drivers of the spread of alien species (Levine & D’Antonio, 2003; Hulme, 2009; Lenda et al, 2014). Use of exotic plants in horticulture and urban greenery are dangerous for native ecosystems, because alien phytophagous insects are often introduced along with their host plants, creating opportunities for troublesome invasions (Rabitsch, 2010). Not all alien insects are able to successfully colonize novel host plants, and understanding why some of them fail to do so can help guide nature conservation and the control of invasive species. The ability of an insect to successfully colonize new hosts is strongly determined by the plant’s physical, chemical, and phenological traits (Coley & Barone, 1996; Loranger et al, 2013; Bogdziewicz et al, 2018). As a consequence of this well-established correlation between SLA and other traits of leaves, SLA is often used as a proxy for leaf palatability (Poorter et al, 2004; Whitfeld et al, 2012)
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