Physiological and behavioral adaptations of GWSS that allow subsistence on xylem fluid include (1) an extremely high assimilation efficiency (AE) (>99%) of organic compounds in monomeric form; (2) extremely high feeding rates (10 to 100 times body weight per hour); (3) conservation of organic carbon by
ammonotelism, and; (4) host plant switching to obtain an appropriate mix of nutrients (Andersen et al.