Consequences of communal gall occupation and a test for kin discrimination in the aphid Tamalia coweni (Cockerell) (Homoptera: Aphididae)

This study investigated the consequences of communal gall induction on individual and group fitness in the aphid Tamaliacoweni. The possibilities that kin discrimination and foundress density are factors favoring communal gall occupation were examined. Clonally produced aphid foundresses were collected to create two treatments: clonal groups and groups of less closely related individuals. These were confined on suitable host plant tissue to compare their respective propensities towards communal behavior. There were no significant differences in the frequencies of communal gall occupation; therefore, active kin discrimination by T.coweni foundresses apparently does not play a role in their communal behavior, within the context of this experiment. In a second experiment, aphid foundress density on the host plant was manipulated in three treatments and was correlated with the frequency of communal gall occupation. Individual fitness was inversely related to the mean number of foundresses per gall. These results suggest that communal gall occupation does not necessarily represent mutual cooperation but may instead be the outcome of competition for limited gall sites on the host plant. However, natural selection at the clonal level may favor communal gall occupation under the conditions of resource limitation and high within-group relatedness. Received: 26 September 1997 / Accepted after revision: 28 March 1998