Meeting Abstract
Treehoppers (family: Membracidae) are well-known for their impressive pronotal outgrowths that have reached a level of morphological diversity that far exceeds that found in any other insect taxon. Membracid pronota have evolved to look like ants and wasps, leaves, petals, and twigs, and still others do not appear to mimic anything in particular at all. This tremendous diversity of forms may arise from the developmental flexibility of the pronotal tissue, which could lead to an increased evolutionary potential to extend into a novel morphospace. This study investigates the genetic and environmental effects on the size and shape of the Entylia carinata pronotum. Specifically, to elucidate the degree to which the Entylia carinata pronotum varies, we measured pronotum, wing, leg, and body size of adult treehoppers raised on either a low or high nutrient host plant within a full-sib quantitative genetic experiment. We found that relative to other parts, the pronotum does show a higher degree of variability. Further, within the pronotum, there seem to be at least two developmental modules that vary with relative independence to one another. Our results shed light on the role of host plant quality on pronotal variability and organization, revealing aspects of developmental plasticity that could be the foundation of its diversity in Membracidae.
