The formation of collective silk balls in the spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch.

Tetranychus urticae is a phytophagous mite that forms colonies of several thousand individuals. These mites construct a common web to protect the colony. When plants become overcrowded and food resources become scarce, individuals gather at the plant apex to form a ball composed of mites and their s...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Gwendoline Clotuche, Anne-Catherine Mailleux, Aina Astudillo Fernández, Jean-Louis Deneubourg, Claire Detrain, Thierry Hance
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2011-04-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3077419?pdf=render