Host plant

A plant used by an insect as a food source or as a site for part of its life cycle, such as egg-laying or larval development.

Plant volatile organic compounds: Carbon-based chemicals released by plants that can influence interactions with insects and other organisms. Their odors help many insects locate potential host plants.
Herbivory: The consumption of living plant material by animals. Insect feeding on a host plant is a form of herbivory.
Integrated pest management: A pest-control approach combining monitoring, biological control, cultural practices, and targeted pesticides. Changing or protecting host plants can reduce pest pressure within integrated control.
Coevolution: Reciprocal evolutionary change between interacting species. Plant defenses and insect adaptations can evolve in response to one another.
Monarch butterfly: A migratory butterfly species whose caterpillars feed on milkweed plants. Its dependence on milkweed illustrates a conspicuous host-plant relationship.
Oviposition: The act of laying eggs by an animal, especially an insect. Female insects often choose host plants as egg-laying sites.
Host (biology): An organism that supports another organism, such as a parasite, symbiont, or pathogen. The general host concept clarifies the specialized use of host plant.
Crop rotation: The planned succession of different crops on the same land across growing seasons. Rotation can interrupt pests dependent on particular crop host plants.
Host shift: An evolutionary change in an organism's use of one host species or group to another. Host shifts can open new resources and lead to ecological divergence.
Cabbage white: A butterfly species whose caterpillars feed on plants in the mustard family and related plants. Its host range shows how a crop pest uses multiple related plants.

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