Lipid composition in long-day and short-day forms of the black bean aphid, Aphis fabae

Long-day reared winged (alate) virginoparae from laboratory stock cultures which had been reared throughout larval development on bean stipules were significantly smaller (0.46±0.02 mg; mean±SEM) than short-day-reared gynoparae (0.69±0.04 mg; the winged autumn migrant) which completed development on intact beans. When winged virginoparae were raised from the third stadium on bean seedlings they grew larger (0.86±0.02 mg) but the gynoparae contained proportionally more total lipid (12.1±0.4%, gynoparae; 7.4±0.6%, stipule-reared virginoparae; 9.2±0.8%, seedling-reared virginoparae). Wingless aphids (apterae) were heavier, whether reared in short (0.99±0.03 mg) or long days (0.95±0.04 mg) but the lipid content was low (4.5±0.7% and 4.9±0.6%, respectively). The triacyl-, diacylglycerol and the phospholipid contents followed this trend but analysis of the fatty acid moieties of the triacylglycerides showed phenotypic differences. The ratios of myristic acid:palmitic acid were significantly higher in the winged forms than the wingless forms and were much higher in the gynoparae than the winged virginoparae. Short-day-reared wingless females also had a higher myristic acid:palmitic acid ratio than long-day-reared apterae, possibly reflecting the embryonic gynoparae maturing in their ovaries.