Aquatic Invasions (2017) Volume 12, Issue 3: 355–369 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3391/ai.2017.12.3.09 Open Access © 2017 The Author(s). Journal compilation © 2017 REABIC Special Issue: Invasive Species in Inland Waters Research Article Fecundity of a native herbivore on its native and exotic host plants and relationship to plant chemistry Michelle D. Marko1,2,* and Raymond M. Newman1 1Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, 55108, USA 2Biology Department, Concordia College, Moorhead, MN 56562, USA *Corresponding author E-mail:
[email protected] Received: 2 November 2016 / Accepted: 28 August 2017 / Published online: 20 September 2017 Handling editor: Liesbeth Bakker Editor’s note: This study was first presented at the special session on aquatic invasive species at the 33rd Congress of the International Society of Limnology (SIL) (31 July – 5 August 2016, Torino, Italy) (http://limnology.org/meetings/past-sil-congress/). This special session has provided a venue for the exchange of information on ecological impacts of non-native species in inland waters. Abstract The host range expansion of the specialist milfoil weevil, Euhrychiopsis lecontei, from the native Myriophyllum sibiricum (northern watermilfoil) to invasive M. spicatum (Eurasian watermilfoil) is one of the few examples of a native insect herbivore preferring, growing and surviving better on a nonindigenous host plant than it does on its native host plant. The milfoil weevil’s preference for the nonindigenous plant can be induced during juvenile development or through exposure to Eurasian watermilfoil as an adult. We evaluated how the fecundity of the milfoil weevil was affected over time by juvenile and adult exposure to the native, invasive and invasive × native hybrid milfoils and whether fecundity was correlated with host plant quality.