Defensive behavior in primary- and secondary-host generations of the soldier-producing aphid, Pemphigus bursarius (Hemiptera: Aphididae)

• Published in: Journal of insect behavior Vol. 17; no. 5; pp. 663 - 672
• Main Authors: Braendle, C, Foster, W.A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Springer 01.09.2004; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: alternative hosts; Animal behavior; Animal ethology; antipredator behavior; Aphididae; Aphidoidea; Biological and medical sciences; defensive behavior; Entomology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; host alternation; host plants; Insects; morphs; Pemphigus (Aphididae); Pemphigus bursarius; Pemphigus spyrothecae; polymorphism; polyphenism; Predation; predator-prey relationships; Predators; primary hosts; Protozoa. Invertebrata; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; soldier aphids; soldier insects; Predator prey relation; Pemphigus spyrothecae; Aphidoidea; Pemphigus bursarius; Insecta; Defensive behavior; Mortality; Pemphigidae; Social insect; predator-prey interactions; Homoptera; Pemphigus bursaries; Cecidiogen; Arthropoda; Developmental stage; Antipredator behavior; Predation; Soldier insect; soldier aphids; Invertebrata; host-alternation; polyphenism
• ISSN: 0892-7553; 1572-8889
• DOI: 10.1023/B:JOIR.0000042547.58157.68

The genus Pemphigus comprises several species that produce soldiers (defensive morphs) in galls on the primary host. At the moment, it is unclear if host-alternating species also produce defenders on their secondary host. We therefore examined how P. bursarius morphs of the secondary host generations respond to predators to test whether they show defensive behavior. We further examined how this response compares with the antipredator behavior of soldiers in P. bursarius and P. spyrothecae occurring on the primary host. We performed two manipulative experiments using two predatory species to quantify the behavior of the different morphs in response to predators. In both experiments, secondary host morphs of P. bursarius showed no attacking behavior and antipredator behavior in these morphs was limited to escaping natural enemies by walking away. In contrast, the first instars of the primary host generations in both Pemphigus species showed attacking behavior and were capable of killing the predators.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]