Aphids 2004
Distributed by Chip Taylor Communications, 2 East View Drive, Derry, NH 03038-4812; 800-876-CHIP (2447)
Producer n/a
Directed by Muriel Jackson
VHS, color, 30 min.
College - Adult
Biology, Ecology
Date Entered: 04/20/2005
Reviewed by Buzz Haughton, Shields Library, University of California at DavisHumans, for the most part, don’t give aphids much thought except insofar as they threaten our gardens and agricultural enterprises. Yet these creatures have a fascinating behavior and unique ecological niche, as this DVD vividly demonstrates. Aphids’ key to survival is their prodigious capacity for reproduction, both sexual and by parthenogenesis; males are produced only in the spring, and for the rest of the year females alone carry on the species. Ants have evolved a symbiotic relationship with aphids, keeping aphids as humans do cattle and “milking” them for their sugar-rich excretion. In return, ants protect aphids from predators such as lacewings, ladybugs, praying mantises and dragonflies.
This DVD follows Dr. Masato Sorin, a biologist, as he studies the intricate ways of aphids and their interactions with other animals, including humans. Aphids constitute a vital base of an extended food chain encompassing many species of insects, insect-eating animals and humans.
Highly recommended for undergraduate college AV collections in biology and ecology.