Age specific maternal defense in Gargaphia solani (Hemiptera: Tingidae)

Summary It is predicted that the intensity of parental defense of offspring is a function of both the increasing reproductive value of offspring and the decreasing reproductive value of parents. The ontogeny of maternal defensive behavior in the lace bug Gargaphia solani is consistent with these predictions in that mothers become more aggressive as they age (between clutches) and also more aggressive as nymphs reach maturity (within clutches).Published with the approval of the Director of the Delaware Agricultural Experiment Station as Miscellaneous Paper No. 981, Contribution No. 513 of the Department of Entomology and Applied Ecology, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19711, USA