Today I was complaining about the loss of some original and
unpublished old data obtained by some retired colleagues about
aphid reproduction. Unfortunately, it is frequent that original
data are lost after retirement, toghether with old papers,
photos and so on. This is a true damage since long term studies
could become more and more difficult. A recent good example of
long term study in aphid biology (even if not the longest) has
been recently published by Robert Lamb and colleague in The
Canadian Entomologist. In particular, they studied the
population stability of Baizongia pistaciae (Linnaeus)
(Hemiptera: Aphididae) on its primary host, the tree Pistacia
palaestina Boissier (Anachardiaceae), using 17–20 years of data
from a study of gall abundance on individual trees in Israel.
Abundance varied by at least an order of magnitude among
adjacent trees, among locations, and among years, but the
population variability (PV) was similar among populations,
suggesting this parameter is characteristic of the speci