Abstract
We studied whether the larval performance of four sawfly species feeding on mountain birch (Betula pubescens subsp. czerepanovii (Orlova) Hämet-Ahti) leaves at different times of the growing season was related to the same chemical and physical leaf traits. In the three phenologically earliest species, larval growth was related to the same set of leaf traits. In contrast, consumption of leaf material was related to different leaf traits in all of the four species. Leaf suitability for herbivore growth and tree resistance to herbivore consumption were thus not always determined by the same leaf traits. Leaf water content and toughness had the strongest associations with larval performance. Phenolics, which are often considered the main resistance compounds in deciduous trees, explained only a small part of the variance in leaf consumption, but some groups of phenolics were negatively related to larval growth. In conclusion, the same mountain birch trees were not resistant to all of the studied sawflies in terms of leaf consumption, but low leaf suitability, which was related to the same set of leaf traits in the case of three sawfly species, may serve birch resistance, e.g., by exposing larvae to natural enemies for a longer period.
Published Version
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