Preference and performance of generalist and specialist herbivores on chemically defended host plants

摘要

1. Both the physiological efficiency (PE) hypothesis and the preference performance (PP) hypothesis address the complex interactions between herbivores and host plants, albeit from different perspectives. The PE hypothesis contends that specialists are better physiologically adapted to their host plants than generalists. The PP hypothesis predicts that larvae perform best on the host plant preferred by ovipositing females.