none The authors tested the slow growth/higher mortality hypothesis for a leaf-galling sawfly (Pontania sp., near P. pacifica ) on arroyo willow (Salix lasiolepis ). They predicted that bigger and more rapidly developing sawflies (and galls) should be less vulnerable to attack from natural enemies. They report that the most rapidly developing sawflies were more likely to be attacked by ectoparasitoids, probably because they were superior resources for the parasitoids. Results re-establish the paradox of sublethal plant defenses by demonstrating that prolonged larval development does not in variably enhance enemy attack. The slow growth/higher mortality hypothesis should not be invoked in the future without empirical support. Life cycle and development; Development; Growth; Parasites diseases and disorders; Parasites; Insect parasites; Hosts; Insect hosts; Host parasite relationships; Land and freshwater zones; Nearctic region; North America; USA Pontania (Tenthredinidae); Growth rate; Hymenopteran parasites; Bracon angelisius & Pteromalus, growth rate & plant host trait relationships; Plant hosts; Salix lasiolepis (arroyo willow), gall formation & plant traits relations; Host preference; Growth rate relations; Bracon & Pteromalus parasites; Reaction of host to parasite; Plant gall formation, growth rate relationships; Reaction of parasite to host, plant host defence relationships; Arizona; Flagstaff, plant host trait & gall formation relationships; Implications for parasitism by Bracon & Pteromalus Bracon angelisius (Braconidae ); Pteromalus (Pteromalidae ); Hymenopteran hosts; Pontania, host growth rate relationships; Host preference; Pontania growth rate relationships; Arizona