Data from: Temporal distribution of endophytic and exophytic insect guilds responds to host plant phenology in the Brazilian Savannah

Niche theory predicts high specialization in species-rich environments
such as neotropics, where plant-herbivore interactions are ubiquitous in
all terrestrial systems. However, there is much to be explored on how
different insect guilds respond to plant phenology in these specialized
environments.  Using a Fabaceae-herbivore community as an
ecological model, we evaluated how plant phenology affects the abundance
and shapes the temporal distribution of exophytic (folivore chewers) and
endophytic (seed chewers) insects. We tested the specialization
hypothesis, predicting insect species on only one or a few host plants,
with a seasonal pattern of occurrence, many rare and few abundant species.
Additionally, we analyzed the relationship between plant phenology and
environmental factors (temperature and precipitation). We conducted
fieldwork with five species and 97 individuals of Fabaceae in Brazilian
Savannah and performed an insect-rearing study in the laboratory. We found
an immediately synchronized relationship between endophytic insects and
plant phenology in the dry season, whereas exophytic were throughout the
year. Only six species from the exophytic guild, out of a total of 87
species for both guilds, fed on more than one host plant, showing a
specialized network. Endophytic herbivores are more abundant, ephemeral,
and predictable than exophytic ones. We also found a negative relationship
between fruiting and precipitation and a positive relationship between new
leaves and temperature and precipitation. Our study shows that the
temporal distribution of insect-herbivore guilds responds to plant
phenology. In a scenario of global warming with effects on the annual
precipitation, endophytic insects are most vulnerable to local extinction
due to temporal changes in plant phenology than the exophytic ones.