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Reproductive strategy of winged and wingless morphs of the aphids Sitobion avenae and Metopolophium dirhodum
Author(s) -
WRATTEN S. D.
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
annals of applied biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.677
H-Index - 80
eISSN - 1744-7348
pISSN - 0003-4746
DOI - 10.1111/j.1744-7348.1977.tb01918.x
Subject(s) - biology , sitobion avenae , alate , fecundity , aphid , homoptera , nymph , reproduction , aphididae , pest analysis , population dynamics , botany , zoology , agronomy , ecology , population , demography , sociology
SUMMARY The reproduction of apterous and alate morphs of the aphids Sitobion avenae and Metopolophium dirhodum is compared on the basis of fecundity in 5‐ and 10‐day periods of adult life. Apterae of both species are consistently more fecund than alatae of comparable weight, producing about three more nymphs on average in any 5‐day period. The reproductive differences are related to the number and quality of embryos at eclosion and to ovulation rates, both of which in turn appear to be linked to wing‐muscle maintenance. These relationships between weight, embryos and reproduction may be used to predict a newly moulted adult aphid's fecundity, a method which may facilitate the assessment of resistance to aphids in new cereal varieties, by obviating lengthy recording of reproduction. The strategies by which alatae of these and other aphid species minimize the difference between their fecundity and that of apterae are discussed.