Leaf-shelters facilitate the colonization of arthropods and enhance microbial diversity on plants

Shelter-building insects are important ecosystem engineers, playing critical roles in structuring arthropod communities. Nonetheless, the influence of leaf shelters and arthropods on plant-associated microbiota remains largely unexplored. Arthropods that visit or inhabit plants can contribute to the leaf microbial community, resulting in significant changes in plant-microbe interactions. By artificially constructing leaf shelters, we provide evidence that shelter-building insects influence not only the arthropod community structure but also impact the phyllosphere microbiota. Leaf shelters exhibited higher abundance and richness of arthropods, leading to changes in the associated arthropod community composition. These shelters also altered the composition and community structure of phyllosphere microbiota, promoting greater richness and diversity of bacteria at the phyllosphere. In leaf shelters, microbial diversity increased with the richness and diversity of herbivores. These findings demonstrate the critical role of leaf shelters in structuring arthropod communities by facilitating colonization and influencing microbial communities through altered microhabitats and community interactions.