How Well Do Keystone Lepidoptera Plants Support Other Insect Taxa?

• Erik Hagen, Insect Ecology and Conservation, University of Delaware

• Douglas Tallamy, Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology, University of Delaware

Previous studies have been conducted to observe the diversity of unique Lepidoptera that use keystone woody plants as hosts; using this data as a comparative metric, Keystone woody plant species in Delaware were sampled to see if there was a correlation between Lepidoptera diversity, and other kinds of insect diversity. 14-18 target keystone species of woody plant were sampled from in 4 unique locations over the course of two months (June-July), 3 times each. The collected data was done by taxonomic family, and split into six different categories: herbivorous Hemiptera, herbivorous Coleoptera, total herbivores, Formicidae (ants), total predators, and total detritivores. Linear regression analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between Lepidoptera diversity and the diversity of these other insect groups. The results showed no significant correlation between Lepidoptera diversity and any of the other insect categories. Lepidoptera, despite being important for ecosystem functionality due to the dependence of insectivorous animals on caterpillars, do not seem to predict diversity of other insects or arthropods in relation to their keystone species usage. Additional data may need to be collected across broader temporal and spatial scales to better understand any potential patterns.