Early season herbivore differentially affects plant defence responses to subsequently colonizing herbivores and their abundance in the field.

Induction of plant defences by early season herbivores can mediate interspecific herbivore competition. We have investigated plant-mediated competition between three herbivorous insects through studies at different levels of biological integration. We have addressed (i) gene expression; (ii) insect behaviour and performance under laboratory conditions; and (iii) population dynamics under field conditions. We studied the expression of genes encoding a trypsin inhibitor and genes that are involved in glucosinolate biosynthesis in response to early season herbivory by Pieris rapae caterpillars in Brassica oleracea plants. Furthermore, we studied the interaction of these transcriptional responses with responses to secondary herbivory by the two specialist herbivores, P. rapae and Plutella xylostella, and the generalist Mamestra brassicae. P. rapae-induced responses strongly interacted with plant responses to secondary herbivory. Sequential feeding by specialist herbivores resulted in enhanced or similar expression levels of defence-related genes compared to primary herbivory by specialists. Secondary herbivory by the generalist M. brassicae resulted in lower gene expression levels than in response to primary herbivory by this generalist. Larval performance of both specialist and generalist herbivores was negatively affected by P. rapae-induced plant responses. However, in the field the specialist P. xylostella was more abundant on P. rapae-induced plants and preferred these plants over undamaged plants in oviposition experiments. In contrast, the generalist M. brassicae was more abundant on control plants and preferred undamaged plants for oviposition. P. rapae did not discriminate between plants damaged by conspecifics or undamaged plants. Our study shows that early season herbivory differentially affects transcriptional responses involved in plant defence to secondary herbivores and their population development dependent upon their degree of host plant specialization.