The leaf-footed cactus bug is not a cactus specialist: Narnia femorata feeds, fights, and mates on thistle.

ABSTRACT: Novel host plants are incorporated into the diets of phytophagous insects when females oviposit and juveniles feed and survive on them. A change in diet, however, can have morphological consequences. We recently found a population of the leaf-footed cactus bug, Narnia femorata (Hemiptera: Coreidae), a historical cactus specialist, living and feeding on Cirsium thistle. We also found adults breeding and males using their enlarged hind legs (i.e., weapons) in male-male combat on thistle. When we compared this thistle population with a population feeding on cactus, we found that both populations had similar body and weapon sizes as well as weapon composition. However, the population living on thistle had longer mouthparts than the population found on cactus, although this differ

SUBMITTER: Cirino LA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11461750 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature