Host interaction mechanisms in herbivorous insects - life cycles, host specialization and speciation

Why are most herbivorous insects so specialized? How do generalists and specialists differ ecologically? And what sensory and cognitive processes determine which host species an insect recognizes and uses? We review sensory cues involved at different stages of interaction with host plants and outline a unified scheme of insect-host interaction mechanisms. Generalist species may be best understood as specialized organisms with a longer tail of secondary host species that they accept to a lessening extent. Secondary hosts have fewer attractive cues, and hence a lower probability of meeting the stimulation threshold required for egg laying. We then discuss the alternative theories of co-evolution and sequential evolution used to explain the diversification of insect herbivores. We conclude that 'escape and radiate' co-evolution rests on unrealistic assumptions and empirical evidence favours sequential evolution of plants and herbivores, and the unique life cycles of insect herbivores may sufficiently explain their extreme diversity within the animal kingdom. We also outline a new speciation-oriented hypothesis to explain why specialists are far more diverse than generalists. Generalists tend to have large, contiguous distributions and therefore lower speciation rates. Natural selection in novel environments may also result in narrowing of the host range more often than broadening, further increasing specialist diversity.

Automated summary

This article discusses why most herbivorous insects are so specialized, the ecological differences between generalists and specialists, and the sensory and cognitive processes that determine which host species an insect recognizes and uses. The study reviews the sensory cues involved in different stages of interaction with host plants and proposes a unified scheme of insect-host interaction mechanisms. Alternative theories of co-evolution and sequential evolution in insect herbivores are discussed, and a new hypothesis is outlined to explain why specialists are more diverse than generalists.