Virtually all studies of plant-herbivore-natural enemy interactions focus on plant quality as the major constraint on development and survival. However, for many gregarious feeding insect herbivores that feed on small or ephemeral plants, the quantity of resources is much more limiting, yet this area has received virtually no attention. Here, in both lab and semi-field experiments using tents c...

Parasitoid wasps are valuable biological control agents that suppress their host populations. Factors introduced by the female wasp at parasitization play significant roles in facilitating successful development of the parasitoid larva either inside (endoparasitoid) or outside (ectoparasitoid) the host. Wasp venoms consist of a complex cocktail of proteinacious and non-proteinacious components ...

The parasitoid wasp Pachycrepoideus vindemmiae (Rondani) is a common pupal parasitoid of many fly pests that is distributed worldwide. This organism can be used for biological control in orchards or livestock farms. Identifying polymorphic microsatellite loci would be useful for analyzing the population genetic structure of the parasitoid. In the current study, based on a modified biotin-captur...

Multipartite nucleic acid-containing virus-like particles, known as polydnaviruses, are special structures produced by female parasitoid wasps to deliver wasp components into the body of their host at oviposition. The particles confer protection for the developing parasitoid by passive and active means. Although several genes expressed from the circular DNA of these particles have been identifi...

Juvenoids, applied topically on larvae of Corcyra cephalonica harbouring the larvae of the parasitoid, produce various types of developmental derangements in parasitoid C. blackburni. The deformed morphs, e.g., apparently normal adults, adultoids and prolonged larvae were developed at different rates by different doses of juvenoids. Larval and pupal mortality rates of the parasite were 6-13 and...

The functional response of the parasitoid Dinarmus basalis (Rond.) (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) is determined to evaluate its potential as a biological control agent. Four female wasps in the presence of males parasitoids, were allowed to oviposit during their life span or hosts at different densities. The data were fit by Rogers′ (1972) parasitoid model. The rate of parasitoid search was a′= 0....

the european corn borer, ostrinia nubilalis (hübner), is an important insect pest of corn, zea mays l., crop in moghan region. in field experiments, the density of eggs and larvae of o.nubilalis and percentage of eggs and larvae parasitisms were studied on four corn hybrids ns704 (commercial cultivar), ns770, ns640 and mv524 (cultivars with high yield). furthermore, in this study, the predators...

Wing phenotype polymorphism is commonly observed in insects, yet little is known about the influence of environmental cues on the development or expression of the alternative phenotypes. Here, we report how both biotic and abiotic factors affect the wing morph differentiation of a bethylid parasitoid Sclerodermus pupariae. The percentage of winged female parasitoid progeny increased exponential...

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...

Trophic assimilation efficiency (conversion of resource biomass into consumer biomass) is thought to be a limiting factor for food chain length in natural communities. In host-parasitoid systems, which account for the majority of terrestrial consumer interactions, a high trophic assimilation efficiency may be expected at higher trophic levels because of the close match of resource composition o...