Identification and Behavioral Assays of Alarm Pheromone in the Vetch Aphid Megoura viciae

The Location of the Photoperiodic Receptors in the Aphid Megoura Viciae Buckton.

Although the photoperiodic reactions of insects and mites have been studied quite extensively (Lees, 1955; de Wilde, 1962), the site of the photoreceptors is still unknown. The light pathway does not seem to involve the eyes. Thus Tanaka (1950) observed that the photoperiodic control of diapause in the silkworm Antheraea pernyi was not affected by cauterizing the lateral ocelli of the 4th-insta...

The Organization of Flight Muscle in an Aphid, Megoura Viciae (homoptera)

The organization of the indirect flight muscle of an aphid (Hemiptera-Homoptera) is described. The fibers of this muscle contain an extensive though irregularly disposed complement of T system tubules, derived as open invaginations from the cell surface and from the plasma membrane sheaths accompanying the tracheoles within the fiber. The sarcoplasmic reticulum is reduced to small vesicles appl...

Identification of the Alarm Pheromone of Cowpea Aphid, and Comparison With Two Other Aphididae Species

In response to a predator attack, many Aphidinae species release an alarm pheromone, which induces dispersal behavior in other individuals within the colony. The major component of this pheromone is the sesquiterpene (E)-β-farnesene (Eβf), but variations occur between aphid species. In the present work, we collected, identified, and quantified the alarm pheromone of Aphis craccivora Koch (Hemip...

Emission of alarm pheromone by non - preyed aphid colonies 1

Smells like aphids: orchid flowers mimic aphid alarm pheromones to attract hoverflies for pollination.

Most insects are dependent on chemical communication for activities such as mate finding or host location. Several plants, and especially orchids, mimic insect semiochemicals to attract insects for unrewarded pollination. Here, we present a new case of pheromone mimicry found in the terrestrial orchid Epipactis veratrifolia. Flowers are visited and pollinated by several species of aphidophagous...