Editing Aphid (section)

==Sociality==
Some aphids show some of the traits of [[eusociality]], joining insects such as ants, bees, and [[termite]]s. However, there are differences between these sexual social insects and the clonal aphids, which are all descended from a single female parthenogenetically and share an identical [[genome]]. About fifty species of aphid, scattered among the closely related, host-alternating lineages [[Eriosomatinae]] and [[Hormaphidinae]], have some type of defensive morph. These are gall-creating species, with the colony living and feeding inside a gall that they form in the host's tissues. Among the clonal population of these aphids, there may be several distinct morphs and this lays the foundation for a possible specialization of function, in this case, a defensive caste. The soldier morphs are mostly first and second instars with the third instar being involved in ''Eriosoma moriokense'' and only in ''Smythurodes betae'' are adult soldiers known. The hind legs of soldiers are clawed, heavily sclerotized and the stylets are robust making it possible to rupture and crush small predators.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Stern |first1=D. L. |last2=Foster |first2=W. A. |date=1996 |title=The evolution of soldiers in aphids |journal=Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society |volume=71 |issue=1 |pages=27–79 |pmid=8603120|doi=10.1111/j.1469-185X.1996.tb00741.x |s2cid=8991755 }}</ref> The larval soldiers are altruistic individuals, unable to advance to breeding adults but acting permanently in the interests of the colony. Another requirement for the development of sociality is provided by the gall, a colonial home to be defended by the soldiers.<ref name="Choe">{{cite book |last1=Choe |first1=Jae C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qkHHO_SmM_kC&pg=PA150 |title=The Evolution of Social Behaviour in Insects and Arachnids |last2=Crespi |first2=Bernard J. |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-521-58977-2 |pages=150–152}}</ref>

The soldiers of gall-forming aphids also carry out the job of cleaning the gall. The honeydew secreted by the aphids is coated in a powdery wax to form "[[liquid marbles]]"<ref name="Pike2002">{{Cite journal |last1=Pike |first1=N. |last2=Richard |first2=D. |last3=Foster |first3=W. |last4=Mahadevan |first4=L. |title=How aphids lose their marbles |doi=10.1098/rspb.2002.1999 |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |volume=269 |issue=1497 |pages=1211–5 |year=2002 |pmid=12065036 |pmc=1691028}}</ref> that the soldiers roll out of the gall through small orifices.<ref name=Kutsukake2012/> Aphids that form closed galls use the plant's vascular system for their plumbing: the inner surfaces of the galls are highly absorbent and wastes are absorbed and carried away by the plant.<ref name=Kutsukake2012/>