The parasitoidOoencyrtus nezarae (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) prefers hosts parasitized by conspecifics over unparasitized hosts (original) (raw)
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Host choice decisions in the polyembryonic wasp Copidosoma koehleri (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae)
Physiological …, 2010
Female parasitoids often reject hosts of poor quality, where the survival and fitness of their offspring are expected to be low. In polyembryonic parasitoid wasps, a clone of genetically identical embryos develops from one egg in a host. In the wasp Copidosoma koehleri, each female clone produces one soldier larva that attacks competing clones inside the host. Aggression by soldiers is directed usually towards unrelated clones. Accordingly, it may be predicted that females will prefer nonparasitized over parasitized hosts, especially if the latter have been parasitized previously by a mated unrelated female, as a result of the reduced chances of survival for their offspring inside these hosts. In accordance with these predictions, females prefer nonparasitized hosts over self-parasitized hosts when they are presented simultaneously. By contrast to the predictions, females prefer hosts parasitized by an unrelated conspecific over nonparasitized hosts when presented simultaneously. Females do not distinguish hosts parasitized by conspecifics from self-parasitized hosts when presented simultaneously. They reject self-parasitized hosts significantly more often than hosts parasitized by conspecifics when each host type is presented alone. Females faced with two previously parasitized hosts are not affected in their choice by the mating status (i.e. virgin or mated) of the previous parasitizing females. The combined results suggest that females are limited in their ability to assess the risk that their offspring will be attacked by a soldier, or that this risk is balanced by the relative advantages of ovipositing in a host parasitized by conspecifics. A possible advantage may be increased out-breeding opportunities for the emerging offspring.
The koinobiont endoparasitoid Leptomastix dactylopii Howard (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) has been widely used as a biological control agent of the citrus mealybug, Planococcus citri (Risso) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), in citrus orchards and ornamental greenhouses. Previous studies showed that the vine mealybug, Planococcus ficus (Signoret) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), is a suitable host for the parasitoid to complete its development. In the current experiment, the preference of L. dactylopii for the two hosts was investigated in a two-choice test. Newly-emerged parasitoid females, reared on one of the two mealybug species, were mated and exposed to third-instar nymphs and young adult females of both P. ficus and P. citri in an experimental arena. In order to investigate the influence of a previous oviposition experience on the host preference, the experimental wasps were naïve (inexperienced) or had oviposition experience with one of the two hosts before the release in the test arena....
European Journal of Entomology, 2016
These parameters are very important for producing parasitoids that perform well both in a laboratory and the fi eld. However, superparasitism can adversely affect the quality of the parasitoid. Superparasitism refers to the oviposition behaviour of parasitoid females that lay eggs in previously parasitized hosts (Gu et al., 2003; Gandon et al., 2006; Dorn & Beckage, 2007). Superparasitism can adversely affect offspring fi tness as they have to compete for resources (van Alphen & Visser, 1990). Superparasitism, however, is recorded in certain situations such as (i) when two or more females search together in a patch, (ii) when unparasitized hosts are rare (egg-limited parasitoid model) and (iii) when females have many mature eggs (time limited model) (
Journal of Agricultural Science, 2021
The study of the interaction between parasitoid and host, especially the age of these organisms, is an important step towards the implementation of biological control programs. Therefore, we investigated the performance of Ooencyrtus submetallicus (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) and Trissolcus sp. aff. urichi (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) parasitizing eggs of Nezara viridula (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), considering different ages of the parasitoids and the host. We performed four laboratory bioassays: two using females of O. submetallicus and Trissolcus sp. aff. urichi at 24, 48, 72, 96, 120, or 144 hours of age exposed to parasitism in N. viridula eggs (24 h) and two trials with N. viridula eggs at 24, 48, 72, 96, 120, or 144 hours exposed to the parasitism of O. submetallicus and Trissolcus sp. aff. urichi (24 h). We evaluated the percentage of parasitism and emergence, life cycle length, progeny, sex ratio, and the longevity of the parasitoids. The parasitism of O. submetallicus in N. virid...
Environmental entomology, 2014
The encyrtid parasitoids Coccidoxenoides perminutus Girault and Anagyrus nr. sp. pseudococci (Girault) were compared in the laboratory as parasitoids of the mealybug Planococcus ficus (Signoret). Female C. perminutus preferred second-instar P. ficus for oviposition, and produced more adult offspring (149.3 per female) than A. nr. sp. pseudococci (54.1 per female). The development time, from egg to adult emergence, of C. perminutus decreased with increasing constant temperatures between 18.5 and 30.1°C; at lower (12.0 and 15.0°C) and higher (31.1, 32.7, and 34.2°C) temperatures, the parasitoid did not develop. The lower threshold was calculated by linear methods to be 10.97°C, and the thermal constant was calculated to be 507.98 degree-days. The development times of C. perminutus were longer than those of A. nr. sp. pseudococci, and C. perminutus had narrower temperature tolerances than P. ficus or A. pseudococci. Argentine ants (Linepithema humile (Mayr)) reduced the amount of time ...
Journal of Insect Behavior, 2000
Host rejection, superparasitism, and ovicide are three possible host selection strategies that parasitoid females can adopt when they encounter parasitized hosts. These differ in costs (in terms of time and energy required) and benefits (in terms of number and quality of offspring produced). Their relative payoff should vary with patch quality, (i.e., proportion of parasitized hosts present), and female choice between them should be adapted accordingly. We conducted behavioral observations to test the effect of the ratio of parasitized/unparasitized hosts present in a patch on the host selection strategies of Pachycrepoideus vindemmiae Rondani (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae). This species being a generalist known to attack hosts of a great range of size, we also tested the impact of host size on female decisions with two host species differing greatly in size (Drosophila melanogaster and Delia radicum). We evaluated the adaptive value of each strategy in relation to host parasitization status and host size by measuring their duration and the potential number of offspring produced.