The invasive viburnum leaf beetle has wreaked havoc on species of Viburnum shrub in the Northeastern United States by eating their leaves and laying eggs on their twigs. Insect herbivory incites somet...The invasive viburnum leaf beetle has wreaked havoc on species of Viburnum shrub in the Northeastern United States by eating their leaves and laying eggs on their twigs. Insect herbivory incites something called an “evolutionary arms race”, where the plant evolves defense mechanisms to avoid predation, the insect evolves in response to evolutionary pressure imposed by that defense mechanism, and the race goes back and forth as each party tries to ‘out-evolve’ the other.
The invasive viburnum leaf beetle has wreaked havoc on species of Viburnum shrub in the Northeastern United States by eating their leaves and laying eggs on their twigs. Insect herbivory incites somet...The invasive viburnum leaf beetle has wreaked havoc on species of Viburnum shrub in the Northeastern United States by eating their leaves and laying eggs on their twigs. Insect herbivory incites something called an “evolutionary arms race”, where the plant evolves defense mechanisms to avoid predation, the insect evolves in response to evolutionary pressure imposed by that defense mechanism, and the race goes back and forth as each party tries to ‘out-evolve’ the other.
