#herbivory — Public Fediverse posts

New publication: #Epigenomic response to #insect #herbivory in Lombardy #poplar: assessing geographic variation in #DNA #methylation changes.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11295-025-01727-4

Jinan Lu et al. explored #Silicon mediates geographic variation of herbivory-related traits in a widespread plant invader.

#BiologicalInvasion | #Herbivory | #LatitudinalVariation | #PlantDefenses | #InvasionEcology | #SpeciesInteraction

https://doi.org/10.1093/jpe/rtaf120

⭐ #Silicon ➡️ Plant defensive/nutritional traits and #Herbivory

Samples
Spartina alterniflora
Mythimna separata & Locusta migratoria

#BiologicalInvasion | #LatitudinalVariation | #PlantDefenses | #InvasionEcology | #SpeciesInteraction

https://doi.org/10.1093/jpe/rtaf120

I love how delightfully diabolical evolution can be.

A new article in Annual Review of Entomology is about the plant pathogens that are vectored between plants by herbivorous insects. These plant pathogens invade plant tissues and make plants sick. To get between plants they hitch a ride inside plant-feeding insects. The healthier the insect the more plants it will feed on.

So, what do the microbes do? They manufacture chemicals that make their insect hosts stronger. Several ways that they do this have been discovered "from balancing a nutritionally deficient diet" to "upgrading its defensive biochemistry against natural enemies."

Wild!

"Plant Pathogens Moonlighting as Beneficial Insect Symbionts" by
Aileen Berasategui and Hassan Salem

https://www.annualreviews.org/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-ento-121423-013411

#entomology #SpeciesInteractions #mutualism #ecology #PlantPathogens #Herbivory #insects

Watch out: the weather is warming and the American ragwort aphids are *multiplying*.

American ragwort aphids specialise on Senecio plants, of which NZ has many species, including some threatened endemic species.

The aphid arrived in NZ (somehow) in 2023, and has since got to work munching on our plants. The American aphids are also now being tended and protected by exotic Australian ants.

In the South Island these aphids are still restricted to Christchurch city (at least based on observations on #iNaturalist and #GBIF).

It would be great if you could keep a look out for them in other places. They're the only big black aphid in NZ (black bodies and legs).

Here are three of my observations of them from this month.

#aphids #PlantInsectInteractions #herbivory #BiologicalInvasions #NZ #Christchurch #iNaturalistNZ #insects #entomology

https://inaturalist.nz/taxa/453265-Aphis-lugentis

Gumplants (Grindelia species) produce a sticky resin that may help deter grazing insects and protect flower buds from intense sunlight.

#resins #herbivory #sunscreen #plants #wildflowers #nature #wildlife #california

【🎉Latest accepted article】
#Silicon mediates geographic variation of #Herbivory-related traits in a widespread plant invader

#BiologicalInvasion | #LatitudinalVariation | #PlantDefenses | #InvasionEcology | #SpeciesInteraction

https://doi.org/10.1093/jpe/rtaf120

🚨Threat detected!🚨
Combining #molecular and #chemical analyses, #bioactivity tests and #insect performance bioassays, Chen et al. report on elicitors in the frass of striped stem borer (SSB) #larvae. https://doi.org/10.1111/jipb.13852
@wileyplantsci
#PlantSci #JIPB #herbivory #CropSci #botany

#JIPB paper, Song et al. tease out the complex mechanisms behind #jasmonate-regulated #floral defense in #Arabidopsis!
https://doi.org/10.1111/jipb.13818
@wileyplantsci
#PlantSci #herbivory #pathology #botany

There's a tiny native mite in NZ, about 1/10 mm long, called Eriophyes totarae, that only feeds on the buds of male tōtara trees.

I learned about them this month when Rene, a PhD student at #LincolnUniversityNZ studying tōtara seed and seedling ecology, asked me what the aborted buds were on a tōtara branch. We looked it up and learned of these tiny mites.

I've since found some in Ōtautahi-Christchurch city.

https://inaturalist.nz/observations/254689722

#entomology #nz #mites #PlantInsectInteractions #herbivory

Now ahead of print for Amarasekare's VP Symposium: "Interactive Effects of Temperature, Aridity, and Plant Stoichiometry on Insect Herbivory: Past and Present" by Swain et al. https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/731995

#temperature #aridity #plant #insect #herbivory #stoichiometry

The legacy of the extinct #megafauna (sensus https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-27749-9) in the Colombian Dry Forest: Ceiba, Zanthoxylum, a palm.

#Evolutionary_anachronism
#anachronism #herbivory #spines #plant_defenses @ecology @plants @botany @plantscience @nature @biodiversity @conservation @evolution

Here's a head scratcher. I have this unidentified beetle that seems to closely resemble some Vexing Rove Beetles (Atheta sp.)

It really looks to me to be eating this leaf. There was a similar track in the same leaf with two of them in it. I couldn't get my camera in close enough to get pictures though. The problem is, I have never heard of rove beetles being herbivores. What gives? Are they eating mold?

#Insects #Beetles #Entomology #Colombia #Arthropods #Herbivory #InsectInteraction

Paper alert: "Multiple dimensions of #biodiversity mediate effects of temperature on invertebrate #herbivory in a montane #grassland" in #Oikos
🐛 🦗🌱 🌿 🌡️

Led by @fh, with @annaliisalaine

We used vegetation and herbivory data along an elevational gradient from our #CalandaBiodiversityExploratories to study how temperature driven changes in the #plant #community affect herbivory risks.

https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.10028

New NIOO publication: Integrating chemical plant trait- and ecological-based approaches to better understand differences in #insect #herbivory between #cultivated and #natural systems. #communityecology #plantdomestication
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2023.108643#spatialecology

Erdos et al. Biol. Rev. (2022): https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/brv.12889

A nice review on the drivers shaping the huge #Eurasian #forest-steppe by Erdos et al., emphasizing #Alternative #Biome States & #feedbacks (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2019.11.003, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2022.03.008)

How come I haven't seen it before?!

#ABS #steppe #forests #grasslands #fire #herbivory @ecology @plants @botany @wildfirescience @plantscience #BiologicalReviews

Taking a bite out of your Thursday!
Ma et al. explore the role of ZmMYC2 in #JA signaling during #maize defense responses to #herbivory.
https://doi.org/10.1111/jipb.13404
@wileyplantsci
#JIPB #phytopathology #ZmMYC2 #PlantScience #CropScience #agriculture #armyworm #spodoptera

Title is "More than what they eat: uncoupled biophysical constraints underlie geographic patterns of herbivory" with coauthors Jason Fridley and @VVandvik

Also, favorite part of this article was the Cate le Bon quote I got away with including.

#herbivory #plants #interactions #biogeography #macroecology

Ma et al. explore the role of ZmMYC2 in #JA signaling during #maize defense responses to #herbivory.
https://doi.org/10.1111/jipb.13404
@wileyplantsci
#JIPB #phytopathology #ZmMYC2 #PlantScience #CropScience #agriculture #armyworm #spodoptera