We compiled a list of all native and non-native insect species known to feed on 77 tree species in Europe. For each tree species, a list of insects known to utilize that species as a host was compiled using a variety of sources. The resulting list consists of 7,598 tree species -insect species pairs. Each insect was researched to determine its taxonomic groupings, feeding guild (gall-maker, folivore, reproductive plant feeder, sap-feeder, or phloem/wood-borer), and whether it was native to Europe or non-native.

A list of tree species (n = 77) native to Europe was compiled. The list originated from the European Atlas of Forest Tree Species (San-Miguel-Ayanz et al. 2016). For each tree species, a list of insects known to utilize that species as a host was compiled using nine sources: Blackman & Eastop (1994), EPPO (2021), García et al. (2016), Jendek & Poláková (2014), Kunca et al. (2013), Liljeblad (2021), Pickering (2011), Robinson et al. (2010), and Smith & Roy (2008). Each insect species was then researched to determine its higher level taxonomy, feeding guild (gall maker, folivore, reproductive plant feeder, sap feeder, or wood borer), and whether it was native to Europe or non-native based on the Fauna Europea database (De Jong et al. 2014) and the International Non-native Insect Establishment Database (Turner et al. 2021). To account for incomplete data that may be generated by poorly studied trees, the bottom 12% of tree species (n = 9) were removed from the dataset; resources identified 12 or fewer insect species associated with these trees. Lastly, each insect species was categorized as either a specialist or generalist at the host genus level, where a specialist was defined as an insect species that feeds on trees within the same genus, while a generalist has hosts in multiple genera.

Accuracy of the dataset was ensured through multiple steps that involved the removal of: 1) insect species not considered herbivores (e.g., detritivores and parasitoids); 2) duplicate tree-insect pairs due to spelling errors (e.g., Alebra wahlbergi vs. A. wahlbergii) or different Latin cases (e.g., Phyllonorycter cerasicolella vs. P. cerasicolellus); and 3) subspecies if the species was already listed for the tree species. In addition, insect species synonyms were identified, and subsequently removed, using the GBIF backbone taxonomy with the rGBIF R package (Chamberlain et al. 2017).

References

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