Few systematic studies have been conducted on the faunal composition and food web structure of Cassidinae of China. During 2013-2019, we systematically investigated Cassidinae beetles and their host plants in the southern Guangxi. A total of 2,255 Cassidinae individuals from 66 species, 23 genera and ten tribes were collected in southern Guangxi. Most species belonged to the tribe Hispini (23 species, 34.8%), followed by the tribe Gonophorini (13 species, 19.7%), Cassidini (eight species, 12.1%) and Aspidimorphini (six species, 9.1%). The others (16 species) belonged to the tribes Anisoderini, Botryonopini, Callispini, Oncocephalini, Notosacanthini and Leptispini. The tribe Notosacanthini was recorded from Guangxi for the first time. The genera Neownesia (Botryonopini), Gonophora (Gonophorini), Micrispa (Gonophorini), Notosacantha (Notosacanthini) and Prionispa (Oncocephalini) were firstly recorded in Guangxi. In total, we obtained 47 newly-recorded species in southern Guangxi and 33 newly-recorded species in the whole Guangxi, of which, Callispa frontalis Medvedev, 1992 was newly recorded in China. Dactylispa feae Gestro (625 individuals) and D. chinensis Weise (565 individuals) were the most common species. A total of 69 species, 53 genera and 19 families of host plants were identified for Cassidinae in southern Guangxi. Many host plant associations are new records for Cassidinae. Quantitative food web analysis indicated that Cassidinae species in southern Guangxi primarily fed on Poaceae, Convolvulaceae, Cyperaceae and Rosaceae. Generally, the plant-Cassidinae food webs were moderately complex and stable in southern Guangxi. This is the first large contribution to the knowledge of the species composition and host plant diversity of Cassidinae in southern Guangxi.

The present study is the first to consider human and nonhuman consumers together to reveal several general patterns of plant utilization. We provide evidence that at a global scale, plant apparency and phylogenetic isolation can be important predictors of plant utilization and consumer diversity. Using the number of species or genera or the distribution area of each plant family as the island “area” and the minimum phylogenetic distance to common plant families as the island “distance”, we fitted presence–area relationships and presence–distance relationships with a binomial GLM (generalized linear model) with a logit link. The presence–absence of consumers among each plant family strongly depended on plant apparency (family size and distribution area); the diversity of consumers increased with plant apparency but decreased with phylogenetic isolation. When consumers extended their host breadth, unapparent plants became more likely to be used. Common uses occurred more often on common plants and their relatives, showing higher host phylogenetic clustering than uncommon uses. On the contrary, highly specialized uses might be related to the rarity of plant chemicals and were therefore very species‐specific. In summary, our results provide a global illustration of plant–consumer combinations and reveal several general patterns of plant utilization across humans, insects and microbes. First, plant apparency and plant phylogenetic isolation generally govern plant utilization value, with uncommon and isolated plants suffering fewer parasites. Second, extension of the breadth of utilized hosts helps explain the presence of consumers on unapparent plants. Finally, the phylogenetic clustering structure of host plants is different between common uses and uncommon uses. The strength of such consistent plant utilization patterns across a diverse set of usage types suggests that the persistence and accumulation of consumer diversity and use value for plant species are determined by similar ecological and evolutionary processes.

The last-instar larva and pupa of Prionispa champaka Maulik, 1919 are described and figured in detail. The chaetotaxy of the head, mouthparts, legs, and dorsal and ventral surfaces of the body are given. The larva of P. champaka mine in the leaves of Pollia japonica Thunb. (Commelinaceae) and pupate in the base of the mid-ribs. The adults were also observed feeding on the leaves of Pollia siamensis (Carib.) Faden ex D. Y. Hong. The prominent diagnostic characters of immature stages of other species of the three genera of Oncocephalini (Prionispa, Chaeridiona, and Oncocephala) are discussed.

There are few reports on the community composition and diversity pattern of the Cassidinae species of China. Compared to the neighbouring provinces of Guangdong, Fujian and Zhejiang, the Cassidinae richness in Jiangxi Province is under-reported. Longnan City, a biodiversity hotspot in Jiangxi Province, was chosen to obtain the first overview of the Cassidinae beetles. The sample coverage curves for the three sample sites reached an asymptote which indicated sampling was sufficient for data analysis. A total of eight tribes, 16 genera, 59 species and 1590 individuals of Cassidinae beetles were collected. Most belonged to the tribe Hispini (1121 individuals; 70.5%), followed by the tribe Cassidini (161 individuals; 10.13%) and the tribe Oncocephalini (159 individuals; 10.0%). The remainder (149 individuals) belonged to five tribes (Gonophorini, Basiprionotini, Callispini, Notosacanthini and Aspidimorphini). The tribes Notosacanthini, Aspidimorphini and Oncocephalini were newly recorded for Jiangxi Province. There were 14 families, 27 genera and 39 species of host plants of Cassidinae beetles in Longnan County. Cassidinae larvae mainly feed on the plant families Poaceae, Rosaceae, Lamiaceae and Rubiaceae. Most host-plant associations are new reords for the beetle species. This research, together with our planned future work in China, may help to explain the geographical distribution, diversity patterns and host plant associations of these beetles.

The first instar and mature larva and pupa of Cassidispa relicta Medvedev, 1957, a newly recorded species from China, are described and figured. The chaetotaxy of the head, mouthparts, legs, and dorsal and ventral surfaces of the body is described. This is the first detailed description of immatures in the genus Cassidispa. Diagnostic characters of this species are compared with other described immatures of some Hispini genera. Biological notes on C. relicta, such as host plants, feeding patterns of adults, structure of larval mines and life history, are also presented.

The effects of a forest road on Castanopsis carlesii (Hemsley) Hayata (Fagales: Fagaceae) seedlings and their leaf herbivory were investigated in a subtropical forest at Jiulianshan National Nature Reserve, Jiangxi, China. A total of 1124 seedlings, 33949 leaves, 468 leaf mines, and 205 leaf galls were found. Generally, individual numbers, tree heights, and leaf numbers of C. carlesii seedlings became lower with increasing distances from the road. These results might indicate that old seedlings were fewer and survival rate of seedlings was lower in forest interiors. Leaf miners preferred the seedlings close to the forest road, while leaf gallers preferred the seedlings about 2 m from the road. Species diversity of leaf miners was higher in the forest interior area, while species diversity of leaf gallers was higher near the road. However, both leaf miners and leaf gallers decreased in general from the road to the interior forest. There were interspecific differences in the effects of roads on leaf miner species and leaf galler species. The effects of the road on seedlings and insects could be explained by varying microhabitat conditions and different ecological strategies. 摘要