Aphids are frequently engaged in mutualistic associations with endosymbionts. Symbionts are bacterial or fungal microorganisms that can be obligate or facultative to aphids. Research showed facultative (or secondary) symbionts have numerous effects on their host aphids such as resistance to heat shock, parasitoids and fungus etc., which may consequently promote a co-evolution between symbionts ...

1. Defensive individuals, termed soldiers, have recently been discovered in aphids, Soldiers are typically early instar larvae, and in many species the soldiers are reproductively sterile and morphologically and behaviourally specialized. 2. Since aphids reproduce parthenogenetically, we might expect soldier production to be more widespread in aphids than it is. We suggest that a more useful wa...

A molecular approach, using aphid-specific monoclonal antibodies, was used to test the hypothesis that alternative prey can affect predation on aphids by linyphiid spiders. These spiders locate their webs in cereal crops within microsites where prey density is high. Previous work demonstrated that of two subfamilies of Linyphiidae, one, the Linyphiinae, is web-dependent and makes its webs at si...

We investigated the effects of chemical variation in thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) on its interactions with competitors, herbivores, and herbivore predators. Four different thyme monoterpene phenotypes (chemotypes) were grown in a 4x2x2 factorial of chemotype, caging (sham half-cages vs. full cages), and competition (control vs. the grass Bromus madritensis L.). Cages reduced numbers of arthropod ...

How competitive interactions and population structure promote or inhibit cooperation in animal groups remains a key challenge in social evolution. In eusocial aphids, there is no single explanation for what predisposes some lineages of aphids to sociality, and not others. Because the assumption has been that most aphid species occur in essentially clonal groups, the roles of intra- and interspe...

Pea aphids, Acyrthosiphon pisum, have the potential to increase reproduction as a defence against pathogens, though how frequently this occurs or how infection with live pathogens influences this response is not well understood. Here we determine the minimum infective dose of an environmentally common bacterium and possible aphid pathogen, Pseudomonas syringae, to determine the likelihood of pa...

Biological control of aphids can be achieved with parasitoids. A parasitoid is a wasp able to parasitize aphids in a host-specific way. These natural enemies of aphids are used in organic or integrated pest management strategies. In order to apply the matching parasitoid against a given aphid species, the aphid has to be detected in the crop and subsequently identified. By the time the aphids a...

The leaf nitrogen content is generally accepted as an indicator of food quality and as a factor affecting host selection by phytophagous insects. The alate pea aphids (Acyrthosiphon pisum Harris, Aphididae) were given a choice among non-nodulated pea plants (Pisum sativum L.) supplied with one of four nitrate-N levels (0, 3, 15 and 30 mM). When whole plants were exposed to aphids for 7 days, th...

The study was conducted in the northern Texas Rolling Plains in 1999 to define the relationship between number of cotton aphids, Aphis gossypii Glover, and resulting contamination of cotton lint by honeydew. Whole-plot treatments were three furrow irrigation management treatments: cotton grown without supplemental irrigation (dryland), irrigated cotton with last irrigation in mid August, and ir...

Aphids are economically important pests that cause extensive feeding damage and transmit viruses. While some species have a broad host range and cause damage to a variety of crops, others are restricted to only closely related plant species. While probing and feeding aphids secrete saliva, containing effectors, into their hosts to manipulate host cell processes and promote infestation. Aphid ef...