example, Amo et al. [58] showed that birds were attracted to trees infested by
lepidopteran larvae, even if the larvae and their damage was removed just before
the experiment. This largely rules out the possibility that the birds used visual cues
for locating the attacked tree in this case.
5
Feeding Guilds and Their Response to Host Plant Defences
The previous sections of this chapter mainly focused on leaf-chewing herbivores (Fig. 4). Indeed, leaf-chewing herbivores represent one of the main herbivore
groups in terms of diversity, abundance, and the amount of damage they do to their
host plants [3]. However, there are many other herbivore guilds, some of them
displaying quite different responses to host plant traits compared with leaf chewers.
The levels of specialization differ among herbivore guilds, ranging from polyphagous root-chewing larvae typically feeding on hosts from multiple plant families,
through leaf-chewing larvae feeding on several congeneric or confamilial hosts, to
gallers and miners with very limited host spectra [24, 42]. The variation in feeding
modes provides herbivores from different feeding guilds various options to avoid
host plant defences, largely shaping their response to host plant traits. For example,
highly specialized endophytic herbivores evolved mechanisms to manipulate hosts,
while some sucking herbivores specialized on feeding on resources with relatively
low defensive metabolite content.
Endophytic herbivores such as leaf miners and gallers (Fig. 4) belong among
herbivores with the most intimate interactions with their host plants. Their diet
usually includes only a couple of closely related congeneric hosts or even a single
Fig. 4 Herbivores from various feeding guilds mentioned in this chapter: (a) a larval leaf chewer (a
geometrid caterpillar feeding on Magnolia kobus, Japan), (b) an adult leaf chewer (Phyllobius sp.
weevil feeding on Salix alba, Czech Republic), (c) a phloem sucker (Hemiptera feeding on Salix
aurita, Czech Republic; note the ants guarding the phloem sucker), (d) a xylem sucker (Cicadidae,
Papua New Guinea), (e) a miner (Parna kamijoi sawfly feeding on Tilia maximowicziana, Japan),
(f) gallers (galls of Tetraneura ulmi on Ulmus glabra)
86
M. Volf
lepidopteran larvae, even if the larvae and their damage was removed just before
the experiment. This largely rules out the possibility that the birds used visual cues
for locating the attacked tree in this case.
5
Feeding Guilds and Their Response to Host Plant Defences
The previous sections of this chapter mainly focused on leaf-chewing herbivores (Fig. 4). Indeed, leaf-chewing herbivores represent one of the main herbivore
groups in terms of diversity, abundance, and the amount of damage they do to their
host plants [3]. However, there are many other herbivore guilds, some of them
displaying quite different responses to host plant traits compared with leaf chewers.
The levels of specialization differ among herbivore guilds, ranging from polyphagous root-chewing larvae typically feeding on hosts from multiple plant families,
through leaf-chewing larvae feeding on several congeneric or confamilial hosts, to
gallers and miners with very limited host spectra [24, 42]. The variation in feeding
modes provides herbivores from different feeding guilds various options to avoid
host plant defences, largely shaping their response to host plant traits. For example,
highly specialized endophytic herbivores evolved mechanisms to manipulate hosts,
while some sucking herbivores specialized on feeding on resources with relatively
low defensive metabolite content.
Endophytic herbivores such as leaf miners and gallers (Fig. 4) belong among
herbivores with the most intimate interactions with their host plants. Their diet
usually includes only a couple of closely related congeneric hosts or even a single
Fig. 4 Herbivores from various feeding guilds mentioned in this chapter: (a) a larval leaf chewer (a
geometrid caterpillar feeding on Magnolia kobus, Japan), (b) an adult leaf chewer (Phyllobius sp.
weevil feeding on Salix alba, Czech Republic), (c) a phloem sucker (Hemiptera feeding on Salix
aurita, Czech Republic; note the ants guarding the phloem sucker), (d) a xylem sucker (Cicadidae,
Papua New Guinea), (e) a miner (Parna kamijoi sawfly feeding on Tilia maximowicziana, Japan),
(f) gallers (galls of Tetraneura ulmi on Ulmus glabra)
86
M. Volf