Abstract
Nonnative plant invasion is among the most severe environmental threats facing terrestrial ecosystems. When introduced into new regions, nonnative plants are thought to shed adapted herbivores. This enemy release may contribute to plant invasiveness, but it also implies that by hosting fewer herbivores, nonnative plants contribute little to supporting diverse food webs and ecosystem services. However, for many widespread invasive plants, arthropod communities have not been extensively surveyed, limiting our ability to assess their contribution to ecosystems. Here, we report on the caterpillar fauna of an important invasive shrub in the Midwest U.S, Amur Honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii). We find that, despite its nonnative status, L. maackii hosts a surprising diversity of caterpillar and sawfly species. We recorded 91 caterpillar species from L. maackii, and though some were likely vagrants, we were able to rear 61 species to pupation on this host. This diversity is similar to that found on common native woody plant genera in the region. The caterpillar community on L. maackii is dominated by generalist Noctuidae, Geometridae, and Erebidae, but also includes species specialized on native relatives. Overall survival was relatively low on L. maackii, suggesting that despite the diverse community we documented, physiological barriers may hamper its colonization by native herbivores. Size at collection, date and caterpillar family all significantly affected the likelihood of caterpillar survival on L. maackii. Our results provide a foundation for understanding the ecological impacts of L. maackii on insect herbivore communities and the processes by which invasive plants are integrated into local food webs.
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Data availability
The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are not publicly available because we are using these data in additional analyses for be published in future manuscripts. However, the data are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Annie Doyle, Hillary Devlin, Jess Liles, Chris Howard, Heather Wilson, Yoaira Victor and Madeline Kenyon for help in collecting and rearing caterpillars. We thank Steve Passoa (USDA) for graciously providing guidance on moth identification and staff of the CA Triplehorn Insect Collection (Museum of Biological Diversity, Ohio State U.) for allowing us access to their Lepidoptera collection. We thank Dayton Five Rivers Metroparks, Ohio State Parks (Ohio DNR), Greene County Parks, and the Glen Helen Nature Preserve for permission to survey caterpillars on their lands. We would also like to thank two anonymous reviewers and editor JD Parker for their helpful comments on previous versions of this manuscript. This work was supported in part by grants from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF DEB 1442134) and the Ohio Invasive Plants Council.
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This work was supported by NSF grant number DEB 1442134 and an Ohio Invasive Plants Council Invasive Plants Small Research Grant.
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Both authors contributed to the study conception and design and data collection. John Stireman performed analyses and most of the writing. Sarah Workman contributed the introduction and commented on previous versions of the manuscript. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Stireman, J.O., Workman, S.T. Use of invasive Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii) by native caterpillars. Biol Invasions 25, 1579–1594 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-023-02997-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-023-02997-6