Illuminating the genetic relationships within soldier-producing aphid colonies is an essential element of any attempt to explain the evolution of the altruistic soldier caste. Pemphigus spyrothecae is a soldier-producing aphid that induces galls on the leaf petioles of its host (trees of the genus Populus). At least a quarter of the aphids within the clonally produced gall population are morpho...

The relationship between aphids and their host plants is thought to be functionally analogous to plant-pathogen interactions. Although virulence effector proteins that mediate plant defenses are well-characterized for pathogens such as bacteria, oomycetes, and nematodes, equivalent molecules in aphids and other phloem-feeders are poorly understood. A dual transcriptomic-proteomic approach was a...

1. Environmental cues associated with prey are known to increase predator foraging efficiency. Ladybird larvae are major predators of aphids. The sugary excretion of aphids (honeydew) has been proposed to serve as a prey-associated cue for ladybird larvae. 2. Ladybird larvae are regularly found on the ground moving between plants or after falling off plants. The use of prey-associated cues woul...

Aphids cause significant damage to crop plants. Studies regarding predator-prey relationships in fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) and cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) crops are important for understanding essential ecological interactions in the context of intercropping and for establishing pest management programs for aphids. This study evaluated the association among Hyadaphis foeniculi (Passe...

Studying the impacts of global change, which comprises largely climate and landscape changes, on agricultural pests is crucial for developing sustainable pest management. This research is focused on understanding the factors associated with population dynamics of cereal aphids and armyworms feeding on wheat in Henan province in China from 1987 to 2010. Association between changes in climate (te...

Since the arrival of the soybean aphid, Aphis glycines, to the U.S. in 2000, year to year abundances have varied substantially. Although, field studies have suggested that several resident generalist predators have the ability to suppress A. glycines populations, factors responsible for its population dynamics remain unclear. For natural enemies to regulate herbivore populations, predation rate...

J. Econ. Entomol. 84(2). 638-643 (1991) ABSTRACT Alate aphids (Homoptera: Aphididae) were collected at weekly intervals in 1988 in six California sugarbeet fields-three on each side of a boundary line which separates overwintered spring harvest beet fields in Solano County from fall harvested fields in Yolo County. Alate aphids landing on a yellow board during a 45-min morning collection period...

Sap-feeding insects such as aphids are the only insect herbivores that show positive responses to elevated CO2. Recent models predict that increased nitrogen will increase aphid population size under elevated CO2, but few experiments have tested this idea empirically. To determine whether soil nitrogen (N) availability modifies aphid responses to elevated CO2, we tested the performance of Macro...

Aphids and other phytophagous insects often show intra-specific variations in relation to host plant utilization. In several instances, intra-species variations lead to host-plant specialization. These are considered to be important source of speciation. In a recent study ( Foottit RG et al. 2010 . Zootaxa 2358: 25–38) two forms of the banana aphid, Pentalonia nigronervosa f typica Coquerel (He...