Inter-gall dispersal in a socially parasitic aphid

The precise means by which socially parasitic gall aphids locate and exploit their hosts remain largely unknown. In this study, I investigated dispersal from natal galls by Tamalia inquiline aphids, both in terms of emigration from the gall, as well as the invasion of new galls induced by host Tamalia aphids. Experimental evidence, gained from sticky traps on the host plants, demonstrates that inquiline first-instar aphids are significantly more likely to exit natal galls than are gall-inducers. With the use of fluorescent tracking powder, a second set of trials confirmed that inquilines are capable of dispersing between galls on the host plant. These experiments reveal the locomotory capacity of Tamalia social parasites as a strategy for exploiting the galls of host aphids.

Automated summary

The study found that socially parasitic gall aphids are able to disperse between different galls on host plants in order to exploit the galls of host aphids.