Abstract
A non-migratory aphid,Pemphigus spyrothecae, produces 1 st-instar larvae of 2 types in the gall: thick-legged ones and normal-legged ones. It was found that the thick-legged larvae play a defensive role, hence they may be called soldiers. Unlike the soldiers of other species hitherto reported, at least some soldiers of this species molt and become adults. Their incomplete sterility is explained historically: 1) The migratory ancestor ofP. spyrothecae once produced monomorphic 1st-instar larvae attacking predators in the gall. 2) It acquired a non-migratory life cycle by the larviposition of emigrants in the gall. 3) As a result, 1 st-instar larvae of another morph, which had lived on the secondary host without attacking predators, joined the gall inhabitants. This hypothesis is supported strongly by the fact that the normal-legged 1 st-instar larvae very much resemble the 1 st-instar larvae of migratoryPemphigus species produced on the secondary hosts.
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Aoki, S., Kurosu, U. Soldiers of a European gall aphid,Pemphigus spyrotecae (Homoptera: Aphidoidea): Why do they molt?. J. Ethol. 4, 97–104 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02348111
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02348111