Defense against natural enemies constitutes an important driver of herbivore host range evolution in the wild. Populations of the Baltimore checkerspot butterfly,
- Award ID(s):
- 1929522
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10353289
- Editor(s):
- Jaronski, Stefan
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Insect Science
- Volume:
- 20
- Issue:
- 5
- ISSN:
- 1536-2442
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Abstract Incorporation of exotic plants into the diets of native herbivores is a common phenomenon, influencing interactions with natural enemies and providing insight into the tritrophic costs and benefits of dietary expansion. We evaluated how use of an exotic plant, Plantago lanceolata , impacted immune performance, development and susceptibility to pathogen infection in the neotropical herbivore Anartia jatrophae (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). Caterpillars were reared on P. lanceolata or a native plant, Bacopa monnieri , and experimentally infected with a pathogenic virus, Junonia coenia densovirus. We found that virus‐challenged herbivores exhibited higher survival rates and lower viral burdens when reared on P. lanceolata compared to B. monnieri , though immune performance and development time were largely similar on the two plants. These findings reveal that use of an exotic plant can impact the vulnerability of a native herbivore to pathogen infection, suggesting diet‐mediated protection against disease as a potential mechanism facilitating the incorporation of novel resources.more » « less
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1093/jisesa/ieaa116
