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Breakup and re-formation of colony in the first-instar larvae of the winter cherry bug,Acanthocoris sordidus thunberg (Hemiptera: Coreidae), in relation to the defence against their enemies

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Researches on Population Ecology

Summary

The winter cherry bug,Acanthocoris sordidus Thunberg, lives in aggregation especially in their early larval instars. Using the 1st-instar larvae of this species, the author tried to clarify both the processes and the mechanisms of the breakup and later re-formation of colony in relation to the defence against their enemies. The results obtained were summarized as follows.

  1. (1)

    In the field population, there is a high possibility of dispersal of the 1st-instar larvae from a colony possibly through the disturbance by some predators but they can re-form a colony with each other or join, with colonies of different instar larvae.

  2. (2)

    The individuals in a colony immediately disperse through the attack of predatory coccinellid beetle,Harmonica axyridis but tend to re-form a colony in a short time.

  3. (3)

    The breakup of colony is caused by the secretion from the attacked individual.

  4. (4)

    The formation of colony is attributed to the habit closely related with the senses of smell and/or contact.

From these results, it was concluded that the dispersal of 1st-instar larvae from a colony, followed by the re-formation of a colony, is an an adaptive behaviour to escape from the attack by their predators.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Entomological Laboratory, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

    Kenji Fujisaki

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  1. Kenji Fujisaki
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Fujisaki, K. Breakup and re-formation of colony in the first-instar larvae of the winter cherry bug,Acanthocoris sordidus thunberg (Hemiptera: Coreidae), in relation to the defence against their enemies. Res Popul Ecol 16, 252–264 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02511065

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02511065

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