Insect gall systems: Patterns, processes and adaptive diversity

Resource manipulation and endophagy are typical of insect-plant gall interactions, galls acting as physiological sinks providing insects with quality nutrients. Diverse biochemical and morphogenetic processes result in a fascinating array of galls induced by an equally wide array of insects, providi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Current science (Bangalore) 1998-10, Vol.75 (7), p.672-676
Main Author: Ananthakrishnan, T. N.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ecological genetics
GENERAL ARTICLES
Host plants
Insect behavior
Insect biology
Insect development
Insect genetics
Insect morphology
Insect physiology
Plant gall
Plant tissues
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Summary:Resource manipulation and endophagy are typical of insect-plant gall interactions, galls acting as physiological sinks providing insects with quality nutrients. Diverse biochemical and morphogenetic processes result in a fascinating array of galls induced by an equally wide array of insects, providing a favourable microenvironment. Phenolic compounds play an essential role in gall initiation, besides the ability of gallers to manipulate nitrogen levels to their own advantage. Social behaviour of some gall insects is reflected in the division of labour evident in polymorphs which are functionally different.
ISSN:0011-3891