The plant–herbivore interaction is one of the most fundamental interactions in nature. Plants are sessile organisms, and consequently rely on particular strategies to avoid or reduce the negative impact of herbivory. Here, we aimed to determine the defense strategies against insect herbivores in the creeping invasive plant Alternanthera philoxeroides.

We tested the defense response of A. philoxeroides to herbivory by a leaf-feeding specialist insect Agasicles hygrophila and a polyphagous sap-feeding insect Planococcus minor. We also tested the mechanisms triggering defense responses of A. philoxeroides by including treatments of artificial leaf removal and jasmonic acid application. Furthermore, we examined the effect of physiological integration on these defense strategies.

The combination of artificial leaf removal and jasmonic acid application produced a similar effect to that of leaf-feeding by the real herbivore. Physiological integration influenced the defense strategies of A. philoxeroides against herbivores, and increased biomass allocation to aboveground parts in its apical ramets damaged by real herbivores. Our study highlights the importance of physiological integration and modular plasticity for understanding the consequences of herbivory in clonal plants.