Abstract
We examined how sedentary herbivorous insects cope with changes in resource availability with host plant phenology by studying the multivoltine lepidopteran leafminer Phyllocnistis sp. on the Japanese privet (Ligustrum japonicum). The privet offers three resources: primary shoots in the spring, lammas shoots later in the season, and older leaves. We examined the seasonal abundance of these resources and the density of mines in each to assess competition between leafminers at the tree, shoot, and leaf scale. The leafminer initially used leaves of primary shoots, then shifted to young leaves of lammas shoots, but never used old leaves. The relative scarcity of lammas shoots increased the density of mines, so the leafminers maximized their use of the intra-leaf microhabitat: they commonly preferred the lower surface of leaves, but came to use both surfaces. Thus the leafminer compensated for the lower availability of lammas shoots by maximizing microhabitat use.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Auerbach MJ, Simberloff D (1984) Responses of leaf miners to atypical leaf production patterns. Ecol Entomol 9:361–367
Auerbach MJ, Connor EF, Mopper S (1995) Minor miners and major miners: Population dynamics of leaf-mining insects. In: Cappuccino N, Price PW (eds) Population dynamics: new approaches and synthesis. Academic Press, Calfornia, pp 83–110
Ayabe Y, Shibata E (2008) Spatial distributions of the leafminer Ophiomyia maura (Diptera: Agromyzidae) in host plant Aster ageratoides. Insect Sci 15:343–348
Coley PD, Barone JA (1996) Herbivory and plant defenses in tropical forests. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 27:305–335
Connor EF, Taverner MP (1997) The evolution and adaptive significance of the leaf-mining habit. Oikos 79:6–25
Danell K, Huss-Danell K (1985) Feeding by insects and hares on birches earlier affected by moose browsing. Oikos 44:75–81
Eber S (2004) Bottom-up density regulation in the holly leafminer Phytomyza ilicis. J Anim Ecol 73:948–958
England JR, Attiwill PM (2011) Changes in stomatal frequency, stomatal conductance and cuticle thickness during leaf expansion in the broad-leaves evergreen species, Eucalyptus regnans. Trees 25:987–996
Feath SH (1991) Effects of oak leaf size on abundance, dispersion, and survival of the leafminer Cameraria sp. (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae). Environ Entomol 20:196–204
Gratani L, Bonito A (2009) Leaf traits variation during leaf expansion in Quercus ilex L. Photosynthetica 47:323–330
Groenteman R, Guershon M, Coll M (2006) Effects of leaf nitrogen content on oviposition site selection, offspring performance, and intraspecific interactions in an omnivorous bug. Ecol Entomol 31:155–161
Hespenhide HA (1991) Bionomics of leaf-mining insects. Annu Rev Entomol 36:535–560
Jesus CR, Redaelli LR (2008) Spatial distribution of Phyllocnistis citrella Stainton (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae) larvae in three scales. Braz J Biol 68:205–210
Knapp JL, Albrigo L, Browning HW, Bullock R, Hall D, Peiia J, Browning H, Stansly P (1995) Citrus leafminer, Phyllocnistis citrella Stainton: current status in Florida. University of Florida, Florida
Konno K, Hirayama C, Shinbo H (1997) Glycine in digestive juice: a strategy of herbivorous insects against chemical defense of host plants. J Insect Physiol 43:217–224
Martinsen GD, Floate KD, Waltz AM, Wimp GM, Whitham TG (2000) Positive interactions between leafrollers and other arthropods enhance biodiversity on hybrid cottonwoods. Oecologia 123:82–89
Mayhew PJ (1997) Adaptive patterns of host-plant selection by phytophagous insects. Oikos 79:417–428
Morrison A, Quiring D (2009) Intra-plant heterogeneity influences the preference and performance of juveniles and adults of a gall midge. Ecol Entomol 34:287–295
Nakamura M, Miyamoto Y, Ohgushi T (2003) Gall-initiation enhances the availability of food resources for herbivorous insects. Funct Ecol 17:851–857
Pena JE, Schaffer B (1997) Intraplant distribution and sampling of the citrus leafminer (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae) on lime. J Econ Entomol 90:458–464
Potter DA, Kimmerer TW (1989) Inhibition of herbivory on young holly leaves: evidence for the defensive role of saponins. Oecologia 78:322–329
Price PW (1994) Phylogenetic constraints, adaptive syndromes, and emergent properties—from individuals to population-dynamics. Res Popul Ecol 36:3–14
Reavey D, Gaston KJ (1991) The importance of leaf structure in oviposition by leaf-mining microlepidoptera. Oikos 61:19–28
Roberts M, Reiss M, Monger G (2000) Advanced biology. Nelson, London
R Development Core Team (2011) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna. ISBN 3-900051-07-0, http://www.R-project.org/
Varone L, Gratani L (2009) Leaf expansion in Rhamnusalaternus L. by leaf morphological, anatomical and physiological analysis. Trees 23:1255–1262
Vercher R, Farias A, Marzal C, Soto A, Tena A, Garcia-Mari F (2008) Factors influencing adult female oviposition in the citrus leafminer Phyllocnistis citrella. Agric For Entomol 10:45–51
Ward SA (1992) Environmental uncertainty and polyphagy in herbivorous insects. Oikos 63:506–512
Acknowledgments
We wish to thank the members of our laboratory for helpful comments.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
About this article
Cite this article
Ayabe, Y., Minoura, T. & Hijii, N. Plasticity in resource use by the leafminer moth Phyllocnistis sp. in response to variations in host plant resources over space and time. J For Res 20, 213–221 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10310-014-0467-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10310-014-0467-9