Brochosome influence on parasitisation efficiency of Homalodisca coagulata (Say) (Hemiptera : Cicadellidae) egg masses by Gonatocerus ashmeadi Girault (Hymenoptera : Mymaridae)

• Author(s): Hemerik, L.; Hoddle, Mark; Luck, Robert; Velema, H.;
• Abstract: 1. Many cicadellid females in the tribe Proconiini (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) cover their egg masses with specialised, usually rod-shaped, brochosomes as the eggs are being laid. The brochosomes are produced in Golgi complexes in the Malpighian tubules of Cicadellidae. In contrast to the gravid females, adult males, pre-reproductive adult females, and nymphal males and females produce specialised, usually spherically shaped brochosomes. Brochosomes are also used to cover the external surfaces of nymphs and newly moulted adult males and females.
• Publication Date: Oct 2005
• Journal: Ecological Entomology