Parasite–host and insect–plant research have divergent traditions despite the fact that most phytophagous insects live parasitically on their host plants. In parasitology it is a traditional assumption that parasites are typically highly specialized; cospeciation between parasites and hosts is a frequently expressed default expectation. Insect–plant theory has been more concerned with host shifts than with cospeciation, and more with hierarchies among hosts than with extreme specialization. We suggest that the divergent assumptions in the respective fields have hidden a fundamental similarity with an important role for potential as well as actual hosts, and hence for host colonizations via ecological fitting. A common research program is proposed which better prepares us for the challenges from introduced species and global change.

尽管大多数植物吞噬性昆虫寄生在其寄主植物上，但寄生虫－寄主和昆虫－植物的研究有着不同的传统。在寄生虫学中，传统的假设是寄生虫通常是高度专业化的。寄生虫和宿主之间的共存是经常表达的默认期望。昆虫-植物理论更关注寄主转移而不是同种交配，更关注寄主之间的等级制度而不是极端专业化。我们认为，各个领域的不同假设隐藏了一个基本相似点，对于潜在宿主和实际宿主以及因此通过生态适应的宿主定植具有重要作用。提出了一项共同的研究计划，该计划可以使我们更好地为来自引入物种和全球变化的挑战做好准备。