Can herbivores sharing the same host plant be mutualists?

Resource partitioning is considered to be a prerequisite for coexisting species to evolve from competition to mutualism. This is uniquely different for two major pest insects of rice. These herbivores preferentially opt to coinfest the same host plants, and through plant-mediated mechanisms, cooperatively utilize these plants in a mutualistic manner.

Automated summary

Resource partitioning is crucial for the transition from competition to mutualism in coexisting species. However, this is not the case for two major pest insects of rice. These herbivores mutually benefit from each other by preferentially infesting the same host plants and utilizing them cooperatively through plant-mediated mechanisms.