Variation in host plant usage and diet breadth predict sibling preference and performance in the neotropical tortoise beetle Chelymorpha alternans (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae)

Specialized interactions between insects and the plants that they consume are one of the most ubiquitous and consequential ecological associations on the plant. Decades of investigation suggest that a narrow diet favors an individual phytophagous insect’s performance relative to a dietary generalist. However, this body of research has tended to approach questions of diet breadth and host usage from the perspective of temperate plant – insect associations. Relationships between diet breadth, host usage and variation in tropical insect preference and performance remain largely uninvestigated. Here we characterize how variation in diet breadth and host usage affect oviposition preference, development, survival, and gain in mass of a Neotropical tortoise beetle Chelymorpha alternans Boheman 1854 (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), using a split-brood, sibling experimental design. Host performance was measured after splitting broods among four no-choice host diets. Groups consuming single hosts var...

昆虫与其取食植物之间的特化互作，是全球范围内最普遍且影响深远的生态关联之一。数十年的研究表明，相较于广食性昆虫，狭食性植食性昆虫的生长表现更优。然而，此类研究大多围绕温带植物-昆虫互作展开，探讨食性广度与寄主利用相关问题。目前，关于食性广度、寄主利用与热带昆虫寄主偏好及生长表现变异之间的关联，仍鲜有系统性研究。本研究以新热带区龟甲*Chelymorpha alternans* Boheman 1854（鞘翅目：叶甲科）为研究对象，采用同巢分群（split-brood）实验设计，解析食性广度与寄主利用的变异如何影响其产卵偏好、生长发育、存活率及体重增量。研究通过将同巢个体分配至4种无选择寄主饲料中测定其寄主适配表现，仅取食单一寄主的组别其……