Polyembryonic parasitoids producing single-sex broods of clonal offspring provide an unusually clear window into the classic tradeoff between the number and size of offspring. We conducted a laboratory study of the encyrtid parasitoid Copidosoma bakeri parasitizing the noctuid Agrotis ipsilon to examine the way that size and number of offspring tradeoff in broods of each sex and to determine ho...

the greenhouse whitefly, trialeurodes vaporariorum westwood (hem.: aleyrodidae) is a polyphagous and key pest that causes damaging to wide range of crops. the parasitoid wasp, eretmocerus delhiensis mani (hym.: aphelinidae) is a syn-ovigenic and thelytokous species that parasitizing greenhouse whitefly nymphs. in order to evaluation parasitoid wasp, eretmocerus delhiensis mani (hym.: aphelinida...

Woolly apple aphid, Eriosoma lanigerum (Hausmann), has become a pest of increasing importance in Washington apple orchards in the past decade. The increase in aphid outbreaks appears to be associated with changes in pesticide programs and disruption of biological control. We sampled woolly apple aphid colonies in central Washington apple orchards for natural enemies of this pest from 2006 to 2...

In order to evaluate the efficiency of biocontrol agents of corn stem borer ,Ostrinia nubilalis, experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block by five treatments and four replication, including, Indoxacarb (Avant)®, Trichogrammawasps, Bacillus thuringiensis var: kurstaki, integration of Trichogramma sp. and Bt., and cont...

In order to evaluate the efficiency of biocontrol agents of corn stem borer ,Ostrinia nubilalis, experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block by five treatments and four replication, including, Indoxacarb (Avant)®, Trichogrammawasps, Bacillus thuringiensis var: kurstaki, integration of Trichogramma sp. and Bt., and cont...

Family Liopteridae (Hymenoptera: Cynipoidea), an archaic group of parasitoid wasp, is reported from India for the first time. Paramblynotus annulicornis Cameron, 1908 found in Great Nicobar Island. The specimen redescribed and illustrated.

1. Most trophic interaction theory assumes that all predators are an abstract form of risk to which prey respond in a quantitatively similar manner. This conceptualization can be problematic because recent empirical work demonstrates that variation in the responses of prey to different predators can play a key role in structuring communities and regulating ecosystem function. 2. Predator identi...

The parasitoid jewel wasp uses cockroaches as live food supply for its developing larva. To this end, the adult wasp stings a cockroach and injects venom directly inside its brain, turning the prey into a submissive 'zombie'. Here, we characterize the sensory arsenal on the wasp's stinger that enables the wasp to identify the brain target inside the cockroach's head. An electron microscopy stud...

Because parasite virulence factors target host immune responses, identification and functional characterization of these factors can provide insight into poorly understood host immune mechanisms. The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster is a model system for understanding humoral innate immunity, but Drosophila cellular innate immune responses remain incompletely characterized. Fruit flies are reg...

Foreign objects that enter the hemocoel of Drosophila melanogaster larvae are encapsulated by one type of blood cell, the lamellocyte, yet eggs of the parasitoid wasp Leptopilina heterotoma remain unencapsulated in D. melanogaster larval hosts that have many lamellocytes. Here we demonstrate that shortly after a female wasp oviposits in the hemocoel the lamellocytes undergo morphological change...