Flight Behavior of Aphids

Kring, James B.

doi:10.1146/annurev.en.17.010172.002333

Cited by 190 publications

(129 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…Many stimuli and environmental conditions have been found to influence flight (Broadbent 1949;Johnson 1958;Kring 1972), and landing or probing response during the 'attacking flight', including tactile (Hennig 1963), visual (see below) and olfactory cues. Olfactory stimuli, such as plant volatiles, had long been considered to be of low importance (Kennedy 1950;Kennedy et al 1959a, b), but it is now clear that odours play an important role in host finding of aphids (e.g., Petterson 1970;Chapman et al 1981;Hardie et al 1994;Powell et al 1995;Park et al 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Visual ecology of aphids—a critical review on the role of colours in host finding

Döring

Chittka

2007

Arthropod-Plant Interactions

200

222

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We review the rich literature on behavioural responses of aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae) to stimuli of different colours. Only in one species there are adequate physiological data on spectral sensitivity to explain behaviour crisply in mechanistic terms. Because of the great interest in aphid responses to coloured targets from an evolutionary, ecological and applied perspective, there is a substantial need to expand these studies to more species of aphids, and to quantify spectral properties of stimuli rigorously. We show that aphid responses to colours, at least for some species, are likely based on a specific colour opponency mechanism, with positive input from the green domain of the spectrum and negative input from the blue and/ or UV region. We further demonstrate that the usual yellow preference of aphids encountered in field experiments is not a true colour preference but involves additional brightness effects. We discuss the implications for agriculture and sensory ecology, with special respect to the recent debate on autumn leaf colouration. We illustrate that recent evolutionary theories concerning aphid-tree interactions imply far-reaching assumptions on aphid responses to colours that are not likely to hold. Finally we also discuss the implications for developing and optimising strategies of aphid control and monitoring.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Visual ecology of aphids—a critical review on the role of colours in host finding

Döring

Chittka

2007

Arthropod-Plant Interactions

200

222

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“…This implies that the aphids predominantly respond to the rotational optic flow perceived by the eyes and not to the sense of rotation perceived by some other sense organs measuring body rotation (e.g. the Johnson's organ at the base of the antennae) (see Bromley et al, 1980;Johnson, 1956;Kring, 1972). Indeed, Bromley et al (Bromley et al, 1980) suggested that…”

Section: Rotation Responsementioning

confidence: 99%

The stimuli evoking the aerial-righting-posture of falling pea aphids

Meresman

Ribak

Weihs

et al. 2014

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Some wingless insects possess aerial righting reflexes, suggesting that adaptation for controlling body orientation while falling through air could have preceded flight. When threatened by natural enemies, wingless pea aphids (Acyrthosiphon pisum) may drop off their host plant and assume a stereotypic posture that rotates them in midair to land on their feet. The sensory information triggering aphids to assume this posture has so far been unknown. We subjected aphids to a series of tests, isolating the sensory cues experienced during free-fall. Falling aphids assumed the righting posture and landed upright irrespective of whether the experiments were carried out in the light or in complete darkness. Detachment of the tarsi from the substrate triggered the aphids to assume the posture rapidly, but only for a brief period. Rotation (mainly roll and yaw) of the body in air, in the light, caused aphids to assume the posture and remain in it throughout rotation. In contrast, aphids rotated in the dark did not respond. Acceleration associated with falling or airflow over the body per se did not trigger the posture. However, sensing motion relative to air heightened the aphids' responsiveness to rotation in the light. These results suggest that the righting posture of aphids is triggered by a tarsal reflex, but, once the aphid is airborne, vision and a sense of motion relative to air can augment the response. Hence, aerial righting in a wingless insect could have emerged as a basic tarsal response and developed further to include secondary sensory cues typical of falling.

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“…Yellow, for example, is generally highly attractive to insects and has been shown to increase green peach aphid (Myzus persicae) and striped (Diabrotica undecimpunctata) and spotted (Acalymma trivitatum) cucumber beetle populations compared to plants grown over bare soil (Lamont 2001). White at times repels aphids and at other times attracts them, depending on the physiological state of the insect (Kring 1972). Orange has been shown to repel various aphids (Jones and Chapman 2 ANR Publication 8129 Table 2.…”

Section: •Increased Yieldsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The mulches are collectively referred to as metalized mulches. These mulches reflect UV wavelength (Summers et al 2004b), which confuses and repels incoming alate aphids, adult whiteflies, and leafhoppers (Circalifer truellus), reducing their incidence of alighting on plants (Kring 1972;Summers and Stapleton 2002a, b).…”

Section: Uv-reflective Plastic Mulchmentioning

confidence: 99%