the influence of parasitoids on population dynamics is affected by host instar preference. the preference pattern of host instars is not fixed and is modified by the availability and relative abundance of host instars, intensity of defensive behaviors in a particular instar, and also maternal effects of the female forager. in this study, host instar preference of the thelytokous strain of lysip...

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 ...

Antagonistic interactions between the nymphal parasitoid, Tamarixia radiata Waterston (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), and the ARSEF 3581 strain of the entomopathogenic fungus, Isaria fumosorosea Wize (Hypocreales: Cordycipitaceae), could disrupt biological control of the Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Liviidae). Three interactions were evaluated under laboratory conditio...

1. In the AÊ land islands of SW Finland, the parasitoid Cotesia melitaearum (Wilkonson) is a specialist on the Glanville fritillary butter ̄y, Melitaea cinxia (L.), which uses two host plants, Plantago lanceolata (L.) and Veronica spicata (L.). 2. Extensive survey data on the butter ̄y and parasitoid populations collected in 1994±97 were used to examine possible associations of parasitoid coloniz...

all species in the genus lysiphlebus förster (hymenoptera: braconidae, aphidiinae) are solitary endoparasitoids of aphids, which are one of the most difficult and unknown taxonomic groups to identify. a pair of species-specific primers as a molecular marker was designed to identify the most abundant and important aphid parasitoid wasp, l. fabarum marshall, collected from guilan province (iran)....

in this research, the effect of entomopathogenic fungus, beauveria bassiana (ascomycota, hypocreales), on functional response (in laboratory) and reproduction (in microcosm) of parasitoid wasp, aphidius matricariae haliday (hym.: braconidae) on its host, myzus persicae (sulzer) (hem.: aphididae) was investigated. illustrating number of mummified aphids versus initial density of green peach aphi...

Ecological theory suggests that frequency-dependent predation, in which more common prey types are disproportionately favored, promotes the coexistence of competing prey species. However, many of the earlier empirical studies that investigated the effect of frequency-dependent predation were short-term and ignored predator-prey dynamics and system persistence. Therefore, we used long-term obser...

In Pakistan, the cotton mealybug, Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley (Sternorrhyncha (Homoptera): Pseudococcidae), is a serious pest of many cultivated plants. A parasitoid, Aenasius bambawalei Hayat (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), is associated with P. solenopsis. In order to mass rear A. bambawalei for a biological control program, it is important to investigate the parasitoid’s host stage preference ...