Ant-Aphid Association: Role of Aphid Alarm Pheromone
- 25 June 1976
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Science
- Vol. 192 (4246) , 1349-1351
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1273595
Abstract
When attacked by predators, aphids secrete alarm pheromones that cause nearby aphids to disperse. Ant-associated (myrmecophilous) aphid species disperse less readily than nonmyrmecophilous species. Ant exposure further depresses the dispersive alarm behavior of myrmecophilous species. The ant Formica subsericea responds to aphid alarm pheromone in a way that is beneficial to the aphid. These findings support our hypothesis that myrmecophilous aphids depend more on ants for protection from predators than on their own dispersive powers.This publication has 9 references indexed in Scilit:
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