Defences against parasites are typically associated with costs to the host that contribute to the maintenance of variation in resistance. This also applies to the defence provided by the facultative bacterial endosymbiont Hamiltonella defensa, which protects its aphid hosts against parasitoid wasps while imposing life-history costs. To investigate the cost-benefit relationship within protected ...

To improve biological pest control, we would like to understand the main factors that limit the reproductive success of key biological control agents, including parasitoid wasps. Previous research with proovigenic parasitoids in the genus Anagrus collected from multiple field sites revealed positive correlations between parasitoid fecundity and local host density. In this article, we test wheth...

Maize (Zea mays Linnaeus, 1753) is economically the most important crop in Serbia, while European corn borer Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübner, 1796) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) its significant pest of this crop. One potentially successful and environmentally friendly method for biological control based on usage wasps from genus Trichogramma Westwood, 1833 (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae), which parasiti...

Aphids are serious pests of many crops in agroecosystems and their biological control is focused on enhancing the performance specialized natural enemies aphids such as parasitoid wasps predators like ladybirds. However, ladybirds often attacked by own parasitoids fourth trophic level that can negatively affect ladybird and, hence, effectiveness agents. The biology ecology these has been less w...

animals that can estimate their desirable habitat quality are better able to accordingly adapt their life behaviors. the life cycles of parasitoids are so closely adapted as to match their hosts life behavior. among the various host-parasitoid interactions, a peculiarity is the seasonal synchrony between host and parasitoid activity. the foraging and oviposition behaviors of lysiphlebus fabarum...

Parasitoid wasps of the subfamily Telenominae (Hymenoptera: Platygastroidea, Platygastridae) develop as immatures within the eggs of other insects (Lepidoptera, Hemiptera, Diptera and Neuroptera). Rearing records indicate that individual species are restricted to attack hosts within only one of these four main groups. We conducted a phylogenetic analysis of the group using sequence data from mu...

iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am deeply indebted to my advisor, Andrew Forbes, whose encouragement and support over the years has been invaluable. I wish to thank my committee, for their guidance, support and feedback. A special thanks goes to my lab-mates Amanda Nelson, Alaine Hippee, Kristina Ottens and Eric Tvedte for driving me crazy while keeping me sane over the past five years. Thank you to Eil...

Hymenopteran parasitoids are insects that play a fundamental role in ecosystems as they reduce the population density of considered pests monocultures. However, little is known about fauna association to eucalyptus trees comparison adjacent native vegetations. Therefore, this study was aimed determine parasitoid wasps occur commercial plantation Eucalyptus urophylla S.T. Blake, well forest and ...