Global macroecological patterns in host plant associations of Cryptocephalinae case-bearer leaf beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

Abstract

Te aim of our work is to catalogue host plant records of the leaf beetle subfamily Cryptocephalinae at the global scale and use it as the foundation to analyse host plant relationships, one proposed key driver in the evolution of phytophagan hyperdiversity. We describe macro-scale host association paterns and assess the trophic range of Cryptocephalinae at the generic level. We assembled 532 sources and extracted 14 253 host plant records (1894 species of plants) for 1436 species of Cryptocephalinae. Te results revealed that most genera of Cryptocephalinae are either polyphagous or strongly polyphagous, yet the fve tribes exhibit intrinsic paterns of host association. Clear macroecological constraints exist for Cryptocephalinae within major lineages of plants. Polyphagy is also maintained for most of the documented juvenile stages and the 19 genera with myrmecophilous species. Te most common host plants for Cryptocephalinae are eudicots, especially among the rosids the order Fabales has the most records, and Asterales, Fagales, Malpighiales, Myrtales, Rosales, and Sapindales are common hosts within all Cryptocephalinae tribes. Our meta-analysis approach and assessing the quality of host plant records permit detection of paterns in host association at the global scale and allows detection of all levels of plant–beetle interactions, from unlikely hosts to potential or real feeders. Our criteria for assessing host plant records and our working model can be applied to other chrysomelid subfamilies and phytophagous insects. Te analysis of macroecological paterns and host checklist provide a basis for generic revisions and hypothesis construction in future ecological, molecular, and morphological studies.