Variation in propensity to defend by reproductive gall morphs in two species of gall-forming thrips

Six species of Australian phleaothripine gall forming thrips on Acacia have two morphs. One morph, referred to as a soldier, has reduced antennae and wings and greatly enlarged fore femora, which are thought to be adaptations for gall defence. For most species, female soldier morphs have reduced rep...

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Published inInsectes sociaux Vol. 50; no. 1; pp. 54 - 58
Main Authors PERRY, S. P, MCLEISH, M. J, SCHWARZ, M. P, BOYETTE, A. H, ZAMMIT, J, CHAPMAN, T. W
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel Springer 01.01.2003
Subjects
Animal ethology
Biological and medical sciences
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Protozoa. Invertebrata
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Australia
Oceania
soldier definition
Edible species
Insecta
Defensive behavior
Social insect
Thysanoptera
thrips
Foundress insect
Leguminosae
Cecidiogen
Arthropoda
Dicotyledones
Angiospermae
Acacia
Kleptoparasitism
Thripidae
Gall morph
Spermatophyta
Soldier insect
Invertebrata
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Summary:Six species of Australian phleaothripine gall forming thrips on Acacia have two morphs. One morph, referred to as a soldier, has reduced antennae and wings and greatly enlarged fore femora, which are thought to be adaptations for gall defence. For most species, female soldier morphs have reduced reproductive output relative to dispersing females and these species have been regarded as eusocial. We examine defensive behaviour of soldier morphs using in situ presentation of gall invading kleptoparasites. We show that the gall-morph of Oncothrips tepperi attack kleptoparasites more often (N = 87 interactions, n = 11 attacks) than does the gall-morph of Oncothrips morrisi (N = 231, n = 1). This difference in proclivity for defence is coincident with a lower reproductive output by the gall-morph in O. tepperi compared to O. morrisi. Our results also show an almost complete absence of attack behaviour by the gall-morph of O. morrisi. Lastly, we show that there is no difference in proclivity for defence between soldier and foundress morphs of O. tepperi. These observations taken together call into question the suitability of the term 'soldier' as applied to the gall-morph of the gall-forming thrips of Australia.
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SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
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ISSN:0020-1812
1420-9098
DOI:10.1007/s000400300008