
ENT 532 Fall 2024: Image of goldenrod (Solidago sp.) patch in Huston Township
While observing a patch of Goldenrod (Solidago sp.) at the edge of a field, I noticed that many plants had aphids (Aphididae) or froghopper nymphs (Aphrophoridae) on their stems. A small subset of the plants had both. Observing one of these plants closely, I saw that several aphids appeared to be caught in the foam produced by the nymphs. Although I know that froghoppers only eat plant material, this made me wonder whether excreting foam like this would be an effective method of trapping prey. I was also curious about the less obvious interactions that occur when aphids and froghoppers feed on the same plant. Does the presence of one plant-feeding insect on a plant reduce the desirability of that plant to another insect? Since aphids feed on phloem and froghopper nymphs feed on xylem, does this mean that there isn’t any meaningful competition between the two? Or does depleting one affect the quality of the other? Certainly, enough herbivory can kill a plant, making it unusable regardless of which part an insect eats. I wonder if given the choice, aphids would choose to feed on a plant that has no other insects on it over a plant that has froghopper nymphs. What if given the choice between a plants with froghopper nymphs and another aphid species?
Files
Metadata
Work Title | ENT 532 Fall 2024: Image of goldenrod (Solidago sp.) patch in Huston Township |
---|---|
Access | |
Creators |
|
Keyword |
|
License | CC0 1.0 (Public Domain Dedication) |
Work Type | Image |
Publication Date | September 24, 2024 |
Subject |
|
DOI | doi:10.26207/qwcd-qg92 |
Geographic Area |
|
Deposited | September 24, 2024 |
Versions
Analytics
Collections
This resource is currently not in any collection.