The aphid species used are both common pests of bean plants, but differ in host-plant breadth (one feeding solely on legumes and the other is polyphagous, feeding on multiple plant families).
By testing for correlations between life cycle complexity and plant host breadth or aphid reproductive mode, the authors discovered a positive relationship between heteroecy (lifecycle complexity) and polyphagy (the ability to eat a variety of food).
Given that A. glabripennis completes development in over 47 different tree species [ 9] and that it feeds in the phloem and xylem before eventually making its way into the heartwood, this insect must have mechanisms to detoxify or sequester the breadth of defensive plant secondary metabolites it encounters throughout its life cycle.
First, we highlight the evolution of weedy rice because it illustrates how what is often perceived as a single problematic lineage is, in fact, a polyphyletic set of lineages with a diversity of evolutionary pathways that capture the breadth of how plant pests evolve from crop ancestors.
In the case of species for which reliable host-plant records were missing, diet breadth was coded as unknown, unless revealed by further laboratory testing with larvae from the same population.
Indeed, the ability of H. axyridis to thrive in association with a diverse range of host plants undoubtedly explains the observed breadth of habitat types occupied by H. axyridis.
This flexibility should add to the general value and breadth of use of plant volatile monitoring lures.
The aim of this study is to test one of the predictions from the oscillation hypothesis: a positive correlation between diet breadth (number of host plants used) and geographic range size, using the globally distributed butterfly subfamily Nymphalinae.
Clade 2A consists of proteins that have, in common with RCD1, an N terminal WWE domain, the PARP signature and a C terminal extension and are found throughout the breadth of the land plants.
No single special issue can cover the full breadth of topics related to plant behaviour, and this issue is no exception.
