Is host plant choice by a clytrine leaf beetle mediated through interactions with the ant Crematogaster lineolata?

In the grasslands of northeastern Kansas, adult populations of Anomoea flavokansiensis, an oligophagous leaf beetle (subfamily Clytrinae), specialize on Illinois bundleflower (Desmanthus illinoensis) even though other reported host species commonly occur and are simultaneously available. We performed choice feeding tests to examine whether A. flavokansiensis adults have a fixed feeding preference for bundleflower. In choice tests, beetles ate similar amounts of bundleflower and honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos). In addition, we measured fecundity and longevity of adults in no-choice tests to determine if adults were adapted solely to bundleflower. In no-choice tests, fecundity and longevity were no different for adults feeding on bundleflower and honey locust. We next examined the influence of host plant on the attractiveness of beetle eggs to ants. In northeastern Kansas, Crematogaster lineolata ants are attracted to A. flavokansiensis eggs and carry them into their nests where the larvae hatch and apparently reside as inquilines. C. lineolata exhibited a strong preference for eggs from female A. flavokansiensis that fed exclusively on bundleflower compared to eggs from females that fed exclusively on honey locust. Local populations of A. flavokansiensis in northeastern Kansas may specialize on bundleflower to increase the chances of their eggs being transported by C. lineolata ants into their nests. C. lineolata nests may serve as a predator-free and sheltered environment in which A. flavokansiensis eggs undergo embryogenesis.