Paracletus cimiciformis

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Paracletus cimiciformis
Scientific classification
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Genus:
Lichtenstein, 1883
Species:
P. cimiciformis
Binomial name
Paracletus cimiciformis
von Heyden, 1837
Synonyms [1]
  • Forda rotunda Theobald, 1914
  • Pemphigus derbesi Lichtenstein, 1880
  • Paracletus pallidus Derbès, 1869.

Paracletus cimiciformis is a species of aphid with a complex life cycle. Its primary host plant is Pistacia and its secondary host is a grass, where it is present on the roots. Here it is associated with an ant and part of its life cycle is spent in the ant's nest.

Contents

Hosts

The primary host for this species is the terebinth or turpentine tree ( Pistacia terebinthus ). [2] Its secondary hosts include the grasses and cereals bent, wild oat, cock's-foot, fescue, wall barley, barley, rice, meadow-grass, Polypogon viridis , tall fescue, Stipa capensis and wheat. [1]

Distribution

Paracletus cimiciformis is native to much of Europe and has been recorded in North Africa and Asia. [3]

Life cycle

The life cycle of P. cimiciformis is complex. For most of the year, wingless females are produced parthogenetically, but in the late summer on their secondary hosts (grass), winged males and females are produced which fly to their primary host, the terebinth tree. Here they mate and overwintering eggs are laid. In the spring these hatch and the wingless females that develop create swollen galls on the leaves; they live in these galls and reproduce asexually. In late summer some winged females develop which fly off and colonise the roots of grasses. Some of these aphids are carried into their nests by ants, where they overwinter, emerging in the spring to recolonise the roots of their secondary hosts, the whole cycle taking two years. [2]

Ecology

Although Pistacia is the primary host plant, this aphid is present in parts of Europe where this tree does not grow, and in these localities, the insect stays on the roots of the secondary host all year round. On grasses, it is always found living in association with ants in the genus Tetramorium such as the pavement ant, Tetramorium caespitum [1] and Tetramorium semilaeve . [4]

On its secondary host, the aphids have two genetically identical forms. One of these has a rounded green body and sucks the sap of the host plant; it produces honeydew which is consumed by the ants, and in fact the ants herd the aphids and stimulate them to produce honeydew. [3] The other form has a flattened brown body and produces pheromones which mimic those produced by ant larvae. [3] When approached by an ant these flattened aphids remain stationary and get carried into the ant nest and deposited among the ant brood. Here they proceed to prey on the ant larvae, piercing them with their stylets and sucking out the hemolymph. They stay in the ant nest during the winter, and in the spring are carried to near the surface of the ground with the ant's own young. Here they produce round-bodied aphids which proceed to feed on grass roots and reproduce asexually. Both round-bodied and flattened morphs can reproduce parthogenetically, producing either form of offspring, and it is unclear what factors trigger the production of one morph in preference to another. [3] [4]

Related Research Articles

Aphid Superfamily of insects

Aphids are small sap-sucking insects and members of the superfamily Aphidoidea. Common names include greenfly and blackfly, although individuals within a species can vary widely in color. The group includes the fluffy white woolly aphids. A typical life cycle involves flightless females giving live birth to female nymphs—who may also be already pregnant, an adaptation scientists call telescopic development—without the involvement of males. Maturing rapidly, females breed profusely so that the number of these insects multiplies quickly. Winged females may develop later in the season, allowing the insects to colonize new plants. In temperate regions, a phase of sexual reproduction occurs in the autumn, with the insects often overwintering as eggs.

Hemiptera Order of insects often called bugs

Hemiptera is an order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising over 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, bed bugs, and shield bugs. They range in size from 1 mm (0.04 in) to around 15 cm (6 in), and share a common arrangement of sucking mouthparts. The name "true bugs" is often limited to the suborder Heteroptera. Many insects commonly known as "bugs", especially in American English, belong to other orders; for example, the lovebug is a fly and the May bug and ladybug are beetles.

Scale insect Superfamily of insects

Scale insects are small insects of the order Hemiptera, suborder Sternorrhyncha. Of dramatically variable appearance and extreme sexual dimorphism, they comprise the infraorder Coccomorpha which is considered a more convenient grouping than the superfamily Coccoidea due to taxonomic uncertainties. Adult females typically have soft bodies and no limbs, and are concealed underneath domed scales, extruding quantities of wax for protection. Some species are hermaphroditic, with a combined ovotestis instead of separate ovaries and testes. Males, in the species where they occur, have legs and sometimes wings, and resemble small flies. Scale insects are herbivores, piercing plant tissues with their mouthparts and remaining in one place, feeding on sap. The excess fluid they imbibe is secreted as honeydew on which sooty mold tends to grow. The insects often have a mutualistic relationship with ants, which feed on the honeydew and protect them from predators. There are about 8,000 described species.

Aphididae Family of true bugs

The Aphididae are a very large insect family in the aphid superfamily (Aphidoidea), of the order Hemiptera. These insects suck the sap from plant leaves. Several thousand species are placed in this family, many of which are considered plant/crop pests. They are the family of insects containing most plant virus vectors with the green peach aphid being one of the most prevalent and indiscriminate carriers.

Eriosomatinae Subfamily of aphids

Woolly aphids are sap-sucking insects that produce a filamentous waxy white covering which resembles cotton or wool. The adults are winged and move to new locations where they lay egg masses. The nymphs often form large cottony masses on twigs, for protection from predators.

Witch-hazel cone gall aphid Species of true bug

The witch-hazel cone gall aphid is a minuscule insect, a member of the aphid superfamily, whose presence on a witch-hazel plant is easily recognizable by a conical gall structure, green at first, it turns bright red. This gall, rich in nutrients, provides both food and shelter for the female aphid. The host plant is witchhazel. At lower altitudes they have a secondary host: river birch, but this may be a different species.

<i>Macrosiphum rosae</i> Species of true bug

Macrosiphum rosae, the rose aphid, is a species of sap-sucking aphids in the subfamily Aphidinae. They have a world-wide distribution and infest rosebushes as the main host in spring and early summer, congregating on the tips of shoots and around new buds. Later in the summer, winged forms move to other rose bushes, or to a limited number of secondary hosts, before returning to rosebushes to lay eggs in the autumn.

Cinara cupressi, the cypress aphid, is a brownish soft-bodied aphid. It sucks sap from twigs of conifers, and can cause damage to the tree, ranging from discoloring of the affected twig to the death of the tree. This insect appears to have originated in the Middle East and has been increasing its range and is considered to be an invasive species in Africa and Europe. It has been included in the List of the world's 100 worst invasive species.

<i>Aphis gossypii</i> Species of insect

Aphis gossypii is a tiny insect, an aphid ("greenfly") in the superfamily Aphidoidea in the order Hemiptera. It is a true bug and sucks sap from plants. It is a widely distributed pest of a variety of agricultural crops in the families Cucurbitaceae, Rutaceae and Malvaceae. Common names include cotton aphid, melon aphid and melon and cotton aphid.

Black bean aphid Species of true bug

The black bean aphid is a small black insect in the genus Aphis, with a broad, soft body, a member of the order Hemiptera. Other common names include blackfly, bean aphid, and beet leaf aphid. In the warmer months of the year, it is found in large numbers on the undersides of leaves and on the growing tips of host plants, including various agricultural crops and many wild and ornamental plants. Both winged and wingless forms exist, and at this time of year, they are all females. They suck sap from stems and leaves and cause distortion of the shoots, stunted plants, reduced yield, and spoiled crops. This aphid also acts as a vector for viruses that cause plant disease, and the honeydew it secretes may encourage the growth of sooty mould. It breeds profusely by live birth, but its numbers are kept in check, especially in the later part of the summer, by various predatory and parasitic insects. Ants feed on the honeydew it produces, and take active steps to remove the aphid's enemies. It is a widely distributed pest of agricultural crops and can be controlled by chemical or biological means. In the autumn, winged forms move to different host plants, where both males and females are produced. These mate and the females lay eggs which overwinter.

<i>Acyrthosiphon pisum</i> Species of true bug

Acyrthosiphon pisum, commonly known as the pea aphid, is a sap-sucking insect in the family Aphididae. It feeds on several species of legumes worldwide, including forage crops, such as pea, clover, alfalfa, and broad bean, and ranks among the aphid species of major agronomical importance. The pea aphid is a model organism for biological study whose genome has been sequenced and annotated.

Pemphigus betae, also known as the sugarbeet root aphid, is a species of gall-forming aphid that forms galls specifically on the commonly found narrowleaf cottonwood, Populus angustifolia. Sugarbeet root aphids have been found in North America and Europe. They infect sugarbeets, but also other plants like tablebeets and Swiss chard. Their size has been likened to that of a pinhead, and are pale white-yellow in color. Sugarbeet root aphids have soft bodies that are bulbous in shape, with mandibular parts that can pierce and suck and paired abdominal tubes that point backwards, and come in both winged and wingless forms. They are known for their consequential effects on agriculture due to infestation of plants, and efforts to control the pests have proved to be difficult.

Phylloxeridae Family of true bugs

Phylloxeridae is a small family of plant-parasitic hemipterans closely related to aphids with only 75 described species. This group comprises two subfamilies and 11 genera with one that is fossil. The genus type is Phylloxera. The Phylloxeridae species are usually called Phylloxerans or Phylloxerids.

<i>Aphis pomi</i> Species of true bug

Aphis pomi, commonly known as the apple aphid, or the green apple aphid, is a true bug in the family Aphididae. It is found on young growth of apple trees and on other members of the rose family where it feeds by sucking sap. Reproduction is mainly by parthenogenesis, in which unmated females give birth to live young.

<i>Brachycaudus cardui</i> Species of insect (aphid)

Brachycaudus cardui is a species of aphid, commonly known as the thistle aphid or the plum-thistle aphid. It infests trees in the genus Prunus in the spring and autumn, and mostly plants in the aster family in the summer.

<i>Dysaphis crataegi</i> Species of true bug

The hawthorn-carrot aphid,, also known as Dysaphis (Dysaphis) crataegi, is an aphid in the superfamily Aphidoidea in the order Hemiptera. It is a true bug and sucks sap from plants.

<i>Rhopalosiphum rufiabdominale</i> Species of aphid

Rhopalosiphum rufiabdominale, the rice root aphid or red rice root aphid, is a sap-sucking insect pest with a wide host range and a global distribution. As a member of the superfamily Aphidoidea, it is one of 16 species of the genus Rhopalosiphum. Adults and nymphs are soft-bodied and usually dark green with brown, red, or yellow tones. Like all aphids, reproduction is sexual and asexual, depending on the environmental conditions and host plant. Rice root aphids cause injury to external plant parts, namely the roots or stem, by feeding on plant sap and vector several important plant viruses. The hosts of this pest extend across multiple plant families with most belonging to Rosaceae, Poaceae, and Solanaceae. R. rufiabdominale is universally associated with Prunus species but also infests various field crops, greenhouse vegetables, cannabis, and other ornamental plants. While this aphid originates from east Asia, it spans nearly every continent. Dispersal is particularly widespread across the United States, India, and Australia, with crop damage documented in multiple instances, although economic losses are primarily associated with Japanese rice crops. Nonetheless, it remains a pest of serious concern due to its high mobility, discrete habitat, and adaptive plasticity, giving it the rightful reputation as a successful invader.

<i>Eriosoma lanigerum</i> Species of true bug

Eriosoma lanigerum, the woolly apple aphid, woolly aphid or American blight, is an aphid in the superfamily Aphidoidea in the order Hemiptera. It is a true bug and sucks sap from plants.

Colophina clematis is a species of aphid in the woolly aphid subfamily, Eriosomatinae, native to Japan. This woolly aphid has the distinction of being the first species of aphid to have been identified as having a "soldier" caste. First instar nymphs of this type are able to protect the aphid colony, killing the larvae of predatory ladybirds, hoverflies and the flower bug Anthocoris nemoralis.

<i>Metopolophium dirhodum</i> Species of true bug

Metopolophium dirhodum, the rose-grain aphid or rose-grass aphid, is a species of sap-sucking insect in the family Aphididae found worldwide. Its primary host is rose, and its secondary host is a grass, including cereals such as wheat, barley, oats and rye. It is an important vector of the barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) which causes serious reductions in yields of affected crops.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Ellis, W.N. (22 January 2018). "Paracletus cimiciformis". Plant Parasites of Europe. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  2. 1 2 Yong, Ed (1 December 2015). "Two-Faced Insect is Both Sheep and Wolf in Sheep's Clothing". Phenomena. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Salazar, Adrián; Fürstenau, Benjamin; Quero, Carmen; Pérez-Hidalgo, Nicolás; Carazo, Pau; Font, Enrique; Martínez-Torres, David (2015). "Aggressive mimicry coexists with mutualism in an aphid". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 112 (4): 1101–1106. Bibcode:2015PNAS..112.1101S. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1414061112 . PMC   4313836 . PMID   25583474.
  4. 1 2 Barras, Colin (12 January 2015). "Aphids suck the blood of their ant masters' young". New Scientist. Retrieved 21 February 2018.