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Aposematism in a soft-bodied insect: a case for kin selection

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Summary

This paper describes the influence on predator behaviour, and the survival of an aposematic aphid, Aphis nerii, in comparison with a palatable, cryptic aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum, when offered to two predators with different foraging tactics. The experiments were designed to test Fisher's (1930) suggestion that aposematism could evolve by kin selection, since aposematic animals often occur in aggregations of relatives. Initially, spiders (Zygiella x-notata) and birds (Parus major) killed high proportions of distasteful A. nerii (60% and 54% respectively). With experience, the predators killed and ate fewer A. nerii. The decreasing mortality of A. nerii after initial encounters with predators, coupled with its apparently obligate parthenogenesis, indicate that the evolution of aposematism in this soft-bodied insect is consistent with kin selection.

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  1. Stephen B. Malcolm

    Present address: Department of Zoology, University of Florida, 32611, Gainesville, Florida, USA

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  1. Department of Zoology, Oxford University, OX1 3PS, Oxford, England

    Stephen B. Malcolm

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  1. Stephen B. Malcolm
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Malcolm, S.B. Aposematism in a soft-bodied insect: a case for kin selection. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 18, 387–393 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00299669

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