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Assessment of the maple aphid colony by the hover fly,Episyrphus balteatus (de Geer) (Diptera: Syrphidae) I

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Abstract

The aphidophagous syrphid fly,Episyrphus balteatus (de Geer), actively visits the Japanese maple,Acer palmatum Thunb., in early spring and oviposits adjacent to colonies of 2 maple aphids,Periphyllus californiensis (Shinji) andYamatocallis tokyoensis (Takahashi). Female flies, in the field, chose small, young colonies with nymphs and wingless adult aphids for their oviposition sites rather than older colonies including winged adults. Same tendency was clearly observed in the experiments with models. It was demonstrated experimentally that they can discriminate between the wingless and winged adult models. It is suggested that females of the hover fly assess the value of aphid colonies as the food resource of their offspring.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Entomology, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyoto Prefectural University, Shimogamo, Sakyo, 606, Kyoto, Japan

    Eiko Kan & Mitsuhiro Sasakawa

Authors
  1. Eiko Kan
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  2. Mitsuhiro Sasakawa
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Additional information

Contribution No. 211 from Lab. Entomol., Kyoto Pref. Univ.

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Kan, E., Sasakawa, M. Assessment of the maple aphid colony by the hover fly,Episyrphus balteatus (de Geer) (Diptera: Syrphidae) I. J. Ethol. 4, 121–127 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02348114

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02348114

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