Laboratory experiments were conducted to examine selection by Cotesia plutellae between host larvae feeding on two plant species: Chinese cabbage, Brassica campestris ssp. pekinensis and common cabbage, Brassica oleracea var. capitata. When C. plutellae wasps were provided with equal numbers of Plutella xylostella larvae on both species of plants in one arena, the parasitoid parasitised 4-15 fo...

White grubs are larvae of Coleoptera of the family Scarabaeidae. They are known because of their intensive feeding habits on crop roots. Mallophora ruficauda (Diptera: Asilidae) is a dipteran parasitoid whose larva is a natural enemy for white grubs. This species is a solitary ectoparasitoid, where both female and larva realize different steps in the host location process. Female place its eggs...

There are many examples of apparent manipulation of host phenotype by parasites, yet few examples of hypermanipulation-where a phenotype-manipulating parasite is itself manipulated by a parasite. Moreover, few studies confirm manipulation is occurring by quantifying whether the host's changed phenotype increases parasite fitness. Here we describe a novel case of hypermanipulation, in which the ...

BACKGROUND Natural selection has resulted in a complex and fascinating repertoire of innate behaviors that are produced by insects. One puzzling example occurs in fruit fly larvae that have been subjected to a noxious mechanical or thermal sensory input. In response, the larvae "roll" with a motor pattern that is completely distinct from the style of locomotion that is used for foraging. RESU...

Previously, host-parasitoid links have been unveiled almost exclusively by time-intensive rearing, while molecular methods were used only in simple agricultural host-parasitoid systems in the form of species-specific primers. Here, we present a general method for the molecular detection of these links applied to a complex caterpillar-parasitoid food web from tropical rainforest of Papua New Gui...

Fly pupae, primarily house fly (Musca domestica Linnaeus) and stable fly (Stomoxys calcitrans (Linnaeus)) (Diptera: Muscidae), were collected from a poultry house in northern Indiana, and parasitoid wasps developing in them were allowed to emerge. Fly pupae density, relative species abundance, and size varied with collection date. Four species of parasitoid wasps were reared from the fly pupae:...

The preferences of Diachasmimorpha longicaudata (Ashmead) for larvae of Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiedemann) and Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) were evaluated under laboratory conditions in no-choice and dual-choice tests, based on percent parasitism, proportion of emerged parasitoids, proportion of female offspring, and number of parasitoid female visits to and ovipositor probes on the artificia...

The parasitoid wasp Trichogramma minutum Riley (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Trichogrammatidae) adjusts its progeny allocation and host examining behaviour to the exposed volume of its host — an insect egg. The female wasp examines a potential host by walking over its surface while drumming its antennae against it, spending a longer time examining larger hosts. If wasps of different sizes are pre...

Few empirical studies have directly explored the association between Buchnera aphidicola (Enterobacteriales: Enterobacteriaceae), the primary endosymbiont of aphids, and the life history strategies of aphid parasitoids. A series of paired-choice experiments were conducted to explore the preference of the parasitoid Lysiphlebus ambiguus Halliday (Hymenoptera: Aphididae) for symbiotic and aposymb...