The fact that plant spatial aggregation patterns shape insect herbivore communities in a variety of ways has resulted in a large body of literature on the subject. The landmark resource concentration hypothesis predicts that density of insect-herbivores per plant will increase as host plant density increases. I examined this prediction across temporal samplings using Jatropha nana and the associated specialist insect-herbivores as a system. Through 12 field samplings, I modelled the effect of host plant...

Phenotypic plasticity in heterogeneous environments can provide tight environment-phenotype matching. However, the pre-requisite is a reliable environmental cue(s) that enables organisms to use current environmental information to induce the development of a phenotype with high fitness in a forthcoming environment. Here we quantify predictability in the timing of precipitation and temperature change to examine how this is associated with seasonal polyphenism in tropical Mycalesina butterflies. Seasonal precipitation in the tropics typically results in distinct selective...