@article {45815, title = {Caste allometries in the soldier-producing aphidPseudoregma alexanderi (Hormaphididae: Aphidoidea)}, journal = {Insectes sociaux}, volume = {43}, year = {1996}, pages = {137-147}, abstract = {

Colonies of the aphidPseudoregma alexanderi produce morphologically-specialized first-instar larvae, termed soldiers, that defend the colony from predators. The environmental cues and physiological mechanisms governing soldier production are currently unknown. Here we present a morphometric study of soldiers and normal first-instar larvae ofP. alexanderi. Several morphological features (fore-leg length and width, hind-leg length, and horn length) plotted against body length display relationship that are similar to a sigmoidal curve. We found further support for an earlier finding that soldiers fall into two size categories, majors and minors, although both types of soldiers appear to follow the same allometry. The patterns of allometry in the soldier-producing aphids are very different from those found in other social insects and do not easily fit into the traditional categorization of allometries. We present two simple alternative models of soldier development as a framework for guiding future studies of the mechanisms of soldier production.

}, keywords = {castes, morphometrics, Soldier aphids}, issn = {1420-9098}, doi = {10.1007/BF01242566}, url = {http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF01242566}, author = {D. L. Stern and A. Moon and C. Martinez del Rio} } @article {45818, title = {A test of geometric hypotheses for soldier investment patterns in the gall producing tropical aphidCerataphis fransseni (Homoptera, Hormaphididae)}, journal = {Insectes sociaux}, volume = {41}, year = {1994}, pages = {457-460}, abstract = {

The gall-forming aphidCerataphis fransseni produces soldiers that defend against predators. Soldiers are produced soon after colony foundation and the number of soldiers increases nonlinearly during colony growth. The number of soldiers scales to the square-root of the number of non-soldiers and linearly to the surface area of the gall. This suggests that soldiers are produced to defend an area, for example the perimeter of the colony or the surface of the gall, rather than individual aphids.

}, issn = {0020-1812}, doi = {10.1007/BF01240648}, url = {http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF01240648}, author = {D. L. Stern and S. Aoki and U. Kurosu} }