Host exploitation pattern in Aphytis yasumatsui Azim, a parasitoid of Asiatic red scale.

Scale-free extinction dynamics in spatially structured host-parasitoid systems.

Much of the work on extinction events has focused on external perturbations of ecosystems, such as climatic change, or anthropogenic factors. Extinction, however, can also be driven by endogenous factors, such as the ecological interactions between species in an ecosystem. Here we show that endogenously driven extinction events can have a scale-free distribution in simple spatially structured h...

Fortuitous Establishment of Rhyzobius lophanthae (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) and Aphytis lingnanesis (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) in South Texas on the Cycad Aulacaspis Scale, Aulacaspis yasumatsui (Hemiptera: Diaspididae)

Semiochemical Exploitation of Host-Associated Cues by Seven Melittobia Parasitoid Species: Behavioral and Phylogenetic Implications

Chemical compounds (infochemicals or semiochemicals) play an important role both in intra-specific and inter-specific communication. For example, chemical cues appear to play a key role in the host selection process adopted by insect parasitoids. In recent years significant advances have been made in order to understand the chemical ecology of insect parasitoids. However, little information is ...

Host-parasitoid evolution in a metacommunity.

Patch size and isolation are predicted to alter both species diversity and evolution; yet, there are few empirical examples of eco-evolutionary feedback in metacommunities. We tested three hypotheses about eco-evolutionary feedback in a gall-forming fly, Eurosta solidaginis and two of its natural enemies that select for opposite traits: (i) specialization and poor dispersal ability constrain a ...

Spatial scale and density dependence in a host parasitoid system: an arboreal ant, Azteca instabilis, and its Pseudacteon phorid parasitoid.

Much literature is dedicated to the study of density dependence in host-parasitoid systems. The theoretical literature identifies two potential stabilization mechanisms relating the response of the parasitoid to host density. One is a behavioral response that occurs at a local level, and the other is a demographic response that occurs at a larger spatial scale with heterogeneous patches of host...