Diversification of plant-feeding insects: using informatics to explore the effects of natural enemy interactions

Abstract

The aim of my thesis research was to gain a deeper understanding of the species diversity of plant-feeding insects. I pursued that aim with two complementary projects. In the first, I developed a web application to manage information about the species diversity of scale insects. In the second, I used scale insect data, and leafroller moth data, to test if the push from natural enemies and the refuge of new host plants is what drives ecological change and speciation in plant-feeding insects.