Lerp (biology)

In biology, a lerp is a structure of crystallized honeydew produced by larvae of psyllid bugs as a protective cover. These animals are commonly referred to as lerp insects, of which there are over 300 species in Australia.^[1]

Lerps are energy rich, consisting mostly of starch, with some proteins and fats.^[1] They are eaten by flying foxes, possums and birds such as pardalotes and honeyeaters.^[1]

The word is derived from the Wemba Wemba word lerep.^[2] Lerps are traditionally eaten by Indigenous people, and can be stored as dry balls for future use.^[3]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Lerps - One of nature's sweet offerings". Land for Wildlife. 2019-08-07. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
^ Australian Aboriginal Words in English. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. 2006 [1990]. p. 103. ISBN 9780195540734.
^ Faast, Renate; Clarke, Philip A.; Taylor, Gary S.; Salagaras, Renée L.; Weinstein, Philip (2020-09-01). "Indigenous Use of Lerps in Australia: So Much More Than a Sweet Treat". Journal of Ethnobiology. 40 (3): 328–347. doi:10.2993/0278-0771-40.3.328. ISSN 0278-0771.

"New Agricultural Pest for Southern California Redgum Lerp Psyllid" (PDF). California Plant Pest and Disease Report. 17 (1–3). Department of Food and Agriculture, Division of Plant Industry: 7. 1998. ISSN 1947-0657. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-08-30.
Dobson, T. (1857). "On Laap, or Lerp, the Cup-Like Coverings of Psyllidae Found on the Leaves of Certain Eucalypti". Transactions of the Microscopical Society & Journal. 5: 123–130. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2818.1857.tb02049.x.
Paton, D.C. (1980). "The Importance of Manna, Honeydew and Lerp in the Diets of Honeyeaters". Emu. 80 (4): 213–226. Bibcode:1980EmuAO..80..213P. doi:10.1080/01584197.1980.11799277.
Woinarski, J.C.Z. (1984). "Small Birds, Lerp-Feeding and the Problem of Honeyeaters". Emu - Austral Ornithology. 84 (3): 137–141. Bibcode:1984EmuAO..84..137W. doi:10.1071/MU9840137.
Ernst, W.H.O.; Sekhwela, M.B.M. (1987). "The chemical composition of lerps from the mopane psyllid Arytaina mopane (Homoptera, Psyllidae)". Insect Biochemistry. 17 (6): 905–9. doi:10.1016/0020-1790(87)90027-8.
Faast, R.; Clarke, P.A.; Taylor, G.S.; Salagaras, R.L.; Weinstein, P. (24 September 2020). "Indigenous Use of Lerps in Australia: So Much More Than a Sweet Treat". Journal of Ethnobiology. 40 (3): 328–347. doi:10.2993/0278-0771-40.3.328. S2CID 221910447.
Hollis, D. (2004). Australian Psylloidea: Jumping Plantlice and Lerp Insects. Australian Biological Resources Study. ISBN 9780642568366.
Sharma, Anamika (December 2014). Bionomics and nutritional ecology of three species of Aphalaridae (Psylloidea) of varied guilds in Australia feeding on different species of Eucalyptus (Myrtaceae) in central-western New South Wales (PhD). Charles Sturt University. pp. 74, 77.

External links

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[:0-1] "Lerps - One of nature's sweet offerings". Land for Wildlife. 2019-08-07. Retrieved 2021-10-10.

[2] Australian Aboriginal Words in English. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. 2006 [1990]. p. 103. ISBN 9780195540734.

[3] Faast, Renate; Clarke, Philip A.; Taylor, Gary S.; Salagaras, Renée L.; Weinstein, Philip (2020-09-01). "Indigenous Use of Lerps in Australia: So Much More Than a Sweet Treat". Journal of Ethnobiology. 40 (3): 328–347. doi:10.2993/0278-0771-40.3.328. ISSN 0278-0771.

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