Maternal care in the red-headed spruce web-spinning sawfly,Cephalcia isshikii (Hymenoptera: Pamphiliidae) |
| |
Authors: | Shin -ichi Kudô Kaoru Maetô Kenichi Ozaki |
| |
Institution: | (1) Entomological Institute, Faculty of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, 060 Sapporo, Japan;(2) Hokkaido Research Center, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, 004 Sapporo, Japan |
| |
Abstract: | We describe oviposition and maternal behavior in the sawfly Cephalcia isshikiiand examine the adaptive significance of this behavior. Females deposited eggs in a single but loose cluster on needles of terminal twigs of spruces, Piceaspp., and remained with the eggs usually on the underside of the twig facing toward the tip. The female attended her eggs until death without taking food but did not follow the first-instar larvae that moved from natal needles even if she survived until then. When the female was disturbed, she usually moved toward the source and attempted to bite it. Though at much lower frequencies, this aggressive behavior was also observed in gravid females and even in males. Field observations and female removal experiments indicated that the female enhanced the survival of the eggs through the reduction of arthropod prédation. |
| |
Keywords: | sawfly Cephalcia isshikii oviposition maternal care |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|