Between florivory and herbivory: inefficacy of decision‐making by generalist floriphilic katydids
2017
TAN, MING KAI | TAN, HUGH TIANG WAH
1. Florivory, which is less studied but as equally widespread as herbivory, can have effects on plant and floral trait adaptations, individual fitness, and community interactions. However, there are still knowledge gaps in our understanding of florivory, including the role of neural constraints and diet specialisation of florivores in floral resource utilisation. 2. According to the neural constraint hypothesis, a generalist flower‐visiting katydid is expected to have lower decision‐making efficacy in feeding when subjected to the presence of both capitula and leaves, compared to the presence of either one of the two resources. 3. In the present study, experiments using the katydid, Phaneroptera brevis, and the plant, whiteweed, Ageratum conyzoides, were carried out to examine the foraging behaviour of the katydid to test our hypothesis. The results confirmed the prediction of the neural constraint hypothesis. 4. The decision‐making efficacy was generally lowered when the katydid was presented with the choice for both the resource that is preferred (capitula) and less preferred (leaves). It was also shown that Phaneroptera brevis is floriphilic, as it prefers capitula to leaves. 5. In conclusion, the first evidence of neural constraint in florivory is provided and suggests that more can be explored into the effects of neural constraints and diet specialisation in floral resource utilisation.
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