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Data and code from: Early herbivory attracts and facilitates subsequent specialist herbivores with consequences for plant performance

Barrett, Matthew1; Brennan, Natalie2; Weber, Donald3; Raguso, Robert1; Thaler, Jennifer1

Published Jul 24, 2026 on Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.ns1rn8q83

Data files

Abstract

Plants are often attacked by multiple insect herbivores throughout their lifetime. Early-arriving herbivores play a critical role in shaping plant responses, which in turn affects subsequent interactions. Later-arriving herbivores can exploit damaged plants but their role in modifying interactions and plant performance remains unclear. Thus, it is important to examine host plant preferences in late-arriving herbivores, the cues guiding their behavior, and the consequences of multiple herbivores. To better understand these interactions and downstream effects, we examined interactions between two insect herbivore specialists, Acalymma vittatum (striped cucumber beetle) and Anasa tristis (squash bug), which often overlap in sequence on shared Cucurbitaceae host plants. We characterized natural succession patterns, identified the cues influencing early- and late-arriving herbivores, and tested the preference–performance hypothesis by determining whether the field-identified cues driving A. tristis attraction and oviposition predicted improved offspring performance on plants previously colonized by A. vittatum. Finally, we investigated how A. vittatum-mediated recruitment of A. tristis influenced plant growth and reproductive traits, by manipulating herbivory from both species in field experiments.

This data deposit contains the data underlying the analyses presented in our manuscript, Early herbivory attracts and facilitates subsequent specialist herbivores with consequences for plant performance. It includes six data files, two R script files, and accompanying documentation describing the variables, units, and methods used for data collection and processing from a three-year period (2022–2024). Measurements include counts of insect colonization on cultivated plants, behavioral and performance metrics for individual insects and insect groups, and measurements of plant traits and yield. Data were collected from cultivated cucurbit species, including Cucurbita pepo, Cucumis sativus, and Citrullus lanatus, in Ithaca, New York, and the surrounding area.