VARIATION IN STAGE-SPECIFIC MORTALITY PATTERNS OF A SPECIALIST HERBIVORE ON DIFFERENT HOST PLANT CLONES

Survival of eggs and larvae of Heliconius melpomene (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) were negatively correlated across clones of its host plant, Passiflora menispermifolia, consistent with the hypothesis that clones could be defended successfully either against eggs or against larvae of this herbivore. In this system, there is the possibility that plant defences could evolve by shifting herbivore mortality to early, non-destructive stages of the herbivore life cycle, without necessarily affecting overall herbivore fitness. Because of this, selection pressures for herbivore counter-traits would not be generated. Such relationships necessitate a broader perspective of plant-herbivore coevolution than a straightforward arms race analogy. -from Authors