Different mechanisms explain feeding type-specific patterns of latitudinal variation in herbivore damage among diverse feeding types of herbivorous insects

To determine whether latitudinal variation in herbivore impact exists, we examined three major herbivorous insect feeding types (chewers, gallers, and miners) on/in leaves of Japanese beech. Herbivores were collected with litter traps deployed in forests across a latitudinal gradient of 10°. Leaf litter analyses demonstrated that chewing herbivory increased with increasing latitude of collection site. However, the densities of miners and gallers decreased with latitude. To test whether latitudinal variation in herbivore damage occurs in the absence of geographically differentiated environmental cueing (e.g., physical stresses or herbivore damage), we measured both genetically determined constitutive leaf traits and herbivore damage in a common-garden experiment. In this experiment, miner density decreased with latitude, but chewing herbivory did not vary latitudinally. Galler density was higher on trees from native provenances than on trees from unrelated provenances likely because of local adaptations. Leaf mass per unit area (LMA), tannin, and phenolics all decreased with latitude of provenance. The latitudinal variation in one constitutive leaf trait (LMA) best explained latitudinal variation in chewing herbivory. Thus, different mechanisms account for feeding type-specific patterns of latitudinal variation in herbivore damage among different herbivore feeding types.