Abstract
Factors affecting the species richness and faunal similarities of leaf eating Lepidoptera and sawflies on woody plants were analysed using British and Finnish data. Host plant frequency, the number of plant species per taxon and the number of relatives of host plants explained a total of 62-85% of the variation in macrolepidopteran species richness on Finnish trees and shrubs. On British trees the range and number of species per plant taxon explained together 47-52% of the variation in microand macrolepidopteran species richness. The number of plant species per host plant taxon explained 87% of the sawfly species richness on Finnish tree and shrub genera. The average frequency of host plant genera explained a significant portion of the residual variation, increasing the coefficient of determination to 97%. Macrolepidopteran faunal similarities were based on taxonomic and habitat similarities of host plant genera. In sawflies the faunal similarity between plant genera was low and was based on taxonomic relatedness. Connections between theories of plant-herbivore coevolution and species richness of herbivores are described and discussed.
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