Summary
Life history and behavioural characteristics of the bamboo aphid,Pseudoregma bambucicola (Takahashi), which has sterile soldiers, were studied in the laboratory. The stadium of normal (fertile) first instar larvae was two times longer than that of second instar larvae, and the stadium of soldier-type (sterile) first instar larvae was much longer (max. 116 days) than the stadium of normal first instar, suggesting that soldiers are able to take nutrition from bamboo. Stimulation of larvae with breath, vibration of bamboo shoots or disturbing the larvae with the tip of a fine brush induced significantly more defensive acts by soldiers than those by normal larvae — the latter usually fled. Soldiers did not attack non-kin conspecific intruders or even aphids of different species, suggesting that, in this species, kin-recognition ability is low.
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Sakata, K., Itô, Y. Life history characteristics and behaviour of the bamboo aphid,Pseudoregma bambucicola (Hemiptera: Pemphigidae), having sterile soldiers. Ins. Soc 38, 317–326 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01314917
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01314917