Reproductive capacity of the horse chestnut scale insect, Pulvinaria regalis Canard (Hom., Coccidae)
1994
Speight, M.R. (Oxford Univ. (United Kingdom). Dept. of Zoology)
The surface area of pre-oviposition female scale insects was closely correlated with their dry and wet weight biomass, and was used as a convenient, indirect method of adult size assessment. Adult females at oviposition were on average bigger when in low density populations than those in high densities, an indication of intraspecific competition in the nymphal stage. Larger females were found to be more fecund (laid more eggs), and produced larger eggs, than smaller females. No significant differences were detected between fecundities of females which had fed as nymphs on different species of host tree, and the general adult size/fecundity relationship was of sigmoid form, indicative of a maximum reproductive potential, which was independent of host tree species. Comparisons with other Hemipteran species indicated the generalist nature of P. regalis, adapted to widespread dispersal and large first instar losses from populations
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