Highly seasonal conditions of tropical dry forests determine the temporal patterns of insect abundance. However, density-independent factors such as natural disturbances can abruptly change environmental conditions, affecting insect populations. We address the effects of the Hurricane Patricia (category 5) on species density and abundance of three feeding guilds of herbivorous insects (sap-sucking, folivorous beetles and xylophagous) and predatory beetles associated to the canopy of a tropical dry forest. Hurricane Patricia has been the strongest tropical hurricane ever reported in the Western Hemisphere. Herbivorous insects (sap-sucking and xylophagous) and predatory beetles increased in species density and abundance in the following months after the hurricane, compared to samples before it. The positive response of sap-sucking insects to Hurricane Patricia was probably related to an increase in the availability of new shoots and leaf meristems after the natural coppicing by the hurricane, while xylophagous guild seems to have been positively affected by the increase in the amount and diversity of deadwood resources. The positive response of predatory beetles may be the result of a bottom-up effect due to a greater availability of arthropod preys after the hurricane. We demonstrated that catastrophic hurricane disturbances could be important events that temporarily increase the species density and abundance of insects in tropical dry forests.

Institute of Entomology Biology Centre CAS Branisovska 31 37005 Ceske Budejovice Czech Republic

Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México Morelia Michoacán 58190 Mexico

Laboratório de Ecologia de Insetos Departamento de Biologia Geral Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais Belo Horizonte Minas Gerais 31270 901 Brazil

Laboratorio Nacional de Análisis y Síntesis Ecológica Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad Morelia Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México Morelia Michoacán 58190 Mexico

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