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Collective defense of Aphis nerii and Uroleucon hypochoeridis (Homoptera, Aphididae) against natural enemies.

ABSTRACT: The prevalent way aphids accomplish colony defense against natural enemies is a mutualistic relationship with ants or the occurrence of a specialised soldier caste typical for eusocial aphids, or even both. Despite a group-living life style of those aphid species lacking these defense lines, communal defense against natural predators has not yet been observed there. Individuals of Aphis nerii (Oleander aphid) and Uroleucon hypochoeridis, an aphid species feeding on Hypochoeris radicata (hairy cat's ear), show a behavioral response to visual stimulation in the form of spinning or twitching, which is often accompanied by coordinated kicks executed with hind legs. Interestingly, this behaviour is highly synchronized among members of a colony and repetitive visual stimulation caused strong habituation. Observations of natural aphid colonies revealed that a collective twitching and kicking response (CTKR) was frequently evoked during oviposition attempts of the parasitoid wasp Aphidius colemani and during attacks of aphidophagous larvae. CTKR effectively interrupted oviposition attempts of this parasitoid wasp and even repelled this parasitoid from colonies after evoking consecutive CTKRs. In contrast, solitary feeding A. nerii individuals were not able to successfully repel this parasitoid wasp. In addition, CTKR was also evoked through gentle substrate vibrations. Laser vibrometry of the substrate revealed twitching-associated vibrations that form a train of sharp acceleration peaks in the course of a CTKR. This suggests that visual signals in combination with twitching-related substrate vibrations may play an important role in synchronising defense among members of a colony. In both aphid species collective defense in encounters with different natural enemies was executed in a stereotypical way and was similar to CTKR evoked through visual stimulation. This cooperative defense behavior provides an example of a surprising sociality that can be found in some aphid species that are not expected to be social at all.

SUBMITTER: Hartbauer M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2861672 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Collective defense of Aphis nerii and Uroleucon hypochoeridis (Homoptera, Aphididae) against natural enemies.

Hartbauer Manfred M

PloS one 20100429 4

The prevalent way aphids accomplish colony defense against natural enemies is a mutualistic relationship with ants or the occurrence of a specialised soldier caste typical for eusocial aphids, or even both. Despite a group-living life style of those aphid species lacking these defense lines, communal defense against natural predators has not yet been observed there. Individuals of Aphis nerii (Oleander aphid) and Uroleucon hypochoeridis, an aphid species feeding on Hypochoeris radicata (hairy ca ...[more]

PMID: 20454683

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Project description:The cotton aphid, Aphis gossypii, is an important insect pest of many crops around the world, and it has developed resistance to a large number of frequently used insecticides. The sublethal effects of insecticides not only have an environmental risk to arthropods but also have the potential to promote resistance evolution. The sublethal effects (inhibitory or stimulatory) are influenced by many factors, such as the type of insecticide, sublethal concentrations, pest species, and others. In this study, the sublethal effects of sulfoxaflor and acetamiprid on A. gossypii were compared using two field-collected populations. The results show that sulfoxaflor was more toxic than acetamiprid against A. gossypii in both populations, the LC50 concentrations of acetamiprid and sulfoxaflor were 6.35 and 3.26 times higher, respectively, for the Jinghe population than for Yarkant. The LC25 concentration of acetamiprid significantly reduced adult longevity and fecundity in exposed adults (F0) of the Jinghe population, but it had no significant effects on these factors in Yarkant. Similar inhibitory effects were found in the F1 and F2 generations, but the biological traits in the Yarkant population were significantly reduced when the parents (F0) were exposed to LC25 of acetamiprid, whereas the changes in the Jinghe population were not significant. However, sublethal sulfoxaflor showed a stimulatory effect on A. gossypii in the F0 and F1 generation; the adult fecundity and longevity of the F0 generation were significantly higher in Jinghe, while the biological traits of the F1 generation were obviously higher in Yarkant. In the F2 generation, the r and λ were significantly higher in Jinghe; meanwhile, these biological traits were reduced in Yarkant. These results indicate that sulfoxaflor and acetamiprid had different sublethal effects on A. gossypii that varied by generation. In addition, we speculate that the genetic background and the resistance levels of A. gossypii may also influence the sublethal effects. Our findings are useful for assessing the overall effects of sulfoxaflor and acetamiprid on A. gossypii.

Dataset Information

Collective defense of Aphis nerii and Uroleucon hypochoeridis (Homoptera, Aphididae) against natural enemies.

Publications

Collective defense of Aphis nerii and Uroleucon hypochoeridis (Homoptera, Aphididae) against natural enemies.

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