Defensive Nymphs of the Woolly AphidThoracaphis kashifolia(Hemiptera) on the OakQuercus glauca
Open Access
- 1 January 2016
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Hindawi Limited in Psyche: A Journal of Entomology
- Vol. 2016, 1-11
- https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/4036571
Abstract
Aphid nymphs with enlarged fore- and mid-legs were found from woolly colonies ofThoracaphis kashifolia(Hormaphidinae, Nipponaphidini) on leaves of the evergreenQuercus glaucain Japan. It was shown that they grasped an introduced moth larva with their legs and some inserted their stylets deep into the body. These defenders were first-instar nymphs of the alate generation and were produced by aleyrodiform apterae from early September onward. There was a large variation in the size of their forelegs. First-instar nymphs (to be alates) produced early in the season had fore-femorotrochanters shorter than those produced later. The molting rate (the percentage of pharate individuals) of the latter was very low (less than 5% to zero), suggesting their semisterility. Although first-instar nymphs with various lengths of forelegs joined to attack moth larvae, these facts indicate that an incipient caste differentiation occurs within the first-instar nymphs of the alate generation.Keywords
Funding Information
- Chuo University
This publication has 20 references indexed in Scilit:
- The Physiology and Genomics of Social Transitions in AphidsPublished by Elsevier BV ,2015
- Altruistic Colony Defense by Menopausal Female InsectsCurrent Biology, 2010
- A Review of the Biology of Cerataphidini (Hemiptera, Aphididae, Hormaphidinae), Focusing Mainly on Their Life Cycles, Gall Formation, and SoldiersPsyche: A Journal of Entomology, 2010
- Soldier caste with morphological and reproductive division in the aphid tribe NipponaphidiniInsectes Sociaux, 2005
- Venomous protease of aphid soldier for colony defenseProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2004
- Colony Defense by Wingpadded Nymphs in Grylloprociphilus imbricator (Hemiptera: Aphididae)The Florida Entomologist, 2001
- Competition, territoriality and maternal defense in a gall-forming aphidEthology Ecology & Evolution, 1998
- THE EVOLUTION OF SOLDIERS IN APHIDSBiological Reviews, 1996
- Shift in life‐history strategy from reproduction to defense with colony age in the galling aphid Hemipodaphis persimilis producing defensive first‐instar larvaePopulation Ecology, 1992
- Experimental evidence for effective and altruistic colony defence against natural predators by soldiers of the gall-forming aphid Pemphigus spyrothecae (Hemiptera : Pemphigidae)Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 1990