Mutualisms (cooperative interactions between species) have had a central role in the generation and maintenance of life on earth. Insects and plants are involved in diverse forms of mutualism. Here we review evolutionary features of three prominent insect-plant mutualisms: pollination, protection and seed dispersal. We focus on addressing five central phenomena: evolutionary origins and mainten...

Hemipterans (e.g., aphids, whiteflies, stinkbugs, leafhoppers, and planthoppers) encompass a large group of insects with mouthparts specially modified for piercing and consuming fluids from the host (Capinera, 2008). Many hemipterans are important pests of plants and vector viral and bacterial diseases. Plant defenses against hemipterans include mechanisms that physically hinder insect feeding,...

This study evaluated whether the herb Ruellia nudiflora is locally adapted to a specialist insect seed predator (SP) and insect folivores, and if plant local adaptation (LA) to the former is more likely. A reciprocal transplant experiment was conducted using three sites in Yucatan (Mexico) (n = 864 plants). A third of the plants of each origin were placed at each site, and we recorded the follo...

Most known insect species are involved in chemically mediated plant–insect multi-trophic interactions, and recent syntheses point to a substantial gap in our understanding of trophic interaction diversity, especially in the tropics. One approach to filling this gap is to examine relationships between genomic, metabolomic, taxonomic, and trophic interaction diversity via quantifying and comparin...

The bacterial endosymbionts occur in a diverse array of insect species and are usually rely within the vertical transmission from mothers to offspring. In addition to primary symbionts, plant sap-sucking insects may also harbor several diverse secondary symbionts. Bacterial symbionts play a prominent role in insect nutritional ecology by aiding in digestion of food or supplementing nutrients th...

Abstract Plant–insect associations have been a significant component of terrestrial ecology for more than 400 Myr. Exploring these interactions in the fossil record through novel perspectives provides window into understanding evolutionary and ecological forces that shaped interactions. For past several decades, researchers documented, described, categorized evidence Drawing on powerful tools f...

The past decades have seen an intense development of organismal biology and genomics of individual species on the one hand, and population biology and evolutionary ecology on the other. While the great discoveries fuelled by the current model systems will continue over the next decades, more and more discoveries will occur at the interface between different biological disciplines. It is through...

The astonishing diversity of plants and insects their entangled interactions are cornerstones in terrestrial ecosystems. Co-occurring with species is the plant secondary metabolites (PSMs). So far, estimated number more than 200 000 compounds, which not directly involved growth development but play important roles helping handle environment including mediation plant–insect interactions. Here, w...