Insect-Plant Interactions in Fern and Moss Ecosystems

Insect-plant interactions in fern and moss ecosystems represent a largely understudied yet ecologically significant component of terrestrial food webs. Bryophytes and pteridophytes offer distinct structural and chemical environments that shape herbivore behaviour, community assembly and evolutionary trajectories. Early land plants lack many of the physical and chemical defences characteristic of angiosperms, leading to questions about their apparent low herbivory rates. Recent insights reveal that specialised insects such as bryophagous beetles and sap-sucking microlepidoptera exploit moss cushions and fern fronds, while gall-inducing mites and dipterans manipulate host tissues to create nutrient-rich niches. These interactions drive co-evolutionary dynamics, selecting for plant traits such as secondary metabolites and morphological complexity, including spatial heterogeneity within moss mats and fern venation patterns that influence insect preference and performance. Furthermore, multitrophic assemblages with predators, parasitoids and mutualists—such as ants inhabiting insect galleries—underscore the intricate food-web linkages in these habitats. Advancements in molecular phylogenetics, chemical profiling and high-resolution imaging have begun to elucidate the taxonomic specificity and functional roles of insect associates, with implications for conservation of cryptic biodiversity and exploration of novel biocontrol agents against invasive ferns. Globally, understanding these basal plant–insect systems enhances our comprehension of early terrestrial ecosystems and informs ecosystem management in carbon-rich peatlands, montane forests and riparian zones.

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Insect-Plant Interactions in Fern and Moss Ecosystems publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in insect-plant interactions in fern and moss ecosystems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Bryophyte: Non-vascular land plant group including mosses and liverworts.

Pteridophyte: Vascular, spore-bearing land plant group including ferns and lycophytes.

Bryophagy: Feeding behaviour of organisms on mosses or liverworts.

Gall: Abnormal plant growth induced by an inducing organism, often insects or mites.

Leaf miner: Insect larva that feeds within the internal tissues of a leaf.

References

1. Could Bryophagous Beetles (Coleoptera: Byrrhidae) Help Us Understand Bryophyte Taxonomy? Preferences within the Hypnum cupressiforme Hedw. Species Complex. Plants (2021).
2. Early land plants: Plentiful but neglected nutritional resources for herbivores?. Ecology and Evolution (2022).
3. Ants associate with microlepidoptera galleries in leaves of Acrostichum danaeifolium Langsd. & Fisch.. Revista Brasileira de Entomologia (2022).