The diet breadth (measured in the number of host plant species) and ecology of Heliconia-feeding hispine beetles in the genera Cephaloleia and Chelobasis were studied at multiple sites in Costa Rica and Panama, from June 2001 to August 2002. Most beetles were found to be relative host-specialists, feeding on three or fewer species in the genus Heliconia. Host plant isolation and beetle diet breadth were found to contribute significantly to the composition and structure of the rolled-leaf hispine beetle assemblage found in individual Heliconia leaf rolls. Parasitoids were found to take a heavy toll on the eggs of all species studied, while a diverse array of mostly arthropod predators was the primary source of adult mortality.
Species 1: Coleoptera Chrysomelidae Cephaloleia bella
Species 2: Coleoptera Chrysomelidae Cephaloleia belti
Species 3: Coleoptera Chrysomelidae Chelobasis perplexa
Keywords: leaf roll
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