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The Role of Host Selection in the Ecology of Phytophagous Insects1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2012

A. J. Thorsteinson
Affiliation:
Department of Entomology, The University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada

Extract

It is a commonplace entomological observation that each phytophagous insect is restricted in its feeding to a small fraction only of the plant species that grow in any area. This phenomenon is generally referred to as “host selection”. The ecological significance of host plant selection among insects is manifest principally in an effect on the geographical distribution of insect species since phytophagous insects can occur only where suitable host plants are available.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 1953

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References

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