Parasitic Maculinea alcon butterflies can only develop in nests of a subset of available Myrmica ant species, so female butterflies have been hypothesized to preferentially lay eggs on plants close to colonies of the correct host ants. Previous correlational investigations of host-ant-dependent oviposition in this and other Maculinea species have, however, shown equivocal results, leading to a ...

The oviposition process of the red imported Þre ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), is described as a succession of four events forming one egg-laying cycle. Each time an egg is laid, the vulva opens and the sting is fully extended. When the vulva closes, the egg is forced to the base of the sting, whereupon the sting is usually retracted across the egg. This phenomenon has...

The life history of Chalcoela iphitalis-a common brood parasite of social wasps-has been described in previous literature, but critical information regarding oviposition behavior and possible differential host parasitism remain cryptic. Here we report on infestation levels of this moth in field populations of paper wasps in Polistes and Mischocyttarus, as well as the oviposition behavior of the...

This study examined the fecundity, oviposition, nymphal development and longevity of field-collected samples of the tropical bedbug, Cimex hemipterus (Fabricius) (Hemiptera: Cimicidae). Under environmental conditions of 26+/-2 degrees C, 70 +/- 5% relative humidity and a 12-h photoperiod, with bloodmeals provided by a human host, six strains of tropical bedbug had a fecundity of up to 50 eggs p...

Horse and cow dung were tested as substrates for oviposition by the stable fly Stomoxys calcitrans (L) (Diptera: Muscidae) in laboratory cages. Odour alone from either horse or cow dung was sufficient to attract flies for oviposition. This was confirmed in wind tunnel experiments, where both horse and cow dung were shown to attract gravid stable flies. However, when S. calcitrans was offered a ...

Longevity, duration of the oviposition period, realized fecundity, potential fecundity, and egg fertility of the beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua (Hübner), were examined in the laboratory under three different adult diet regimes. All parameters were signiÞcantly reduced for the water-only diet compared with 10% honey or sucrose diets, except fertility, which could not be measured after 5 d beca...

1. The possible effect of juvenile imprinting or ‘chemical legacy’ on the subsequent oviposition – often called the ‘Hopkins’ host selection principle’ – has been a controversial but recurrent theme in the literature on host-plant preference. While it appears possible in principle, experimental support for the hypothesis is equivocal. The present study points out that it is also important to co...

Scots pine has been shown to produce a volatile bouquet that attracts egg parasitoids in response to oviposition of the herbivorous sawfly Diprion pini. Previous analyses of headspace volatiles of oviposition-induced pine twigs revealed only quantitative changes; in particular, the sesquiterpene (E)-beta-farnesene was emitted in significantly higher quantities by oviposition-induced pine. Here ...

Aedes (Finlaya) japonicus japonicus (Theobald) (Diptera: Culicidae) is recently invasive in North America and has expanded its range rapidly since 1998. Throughout its native and expanded range, Ae. j. japonicus larvae are commonly observed in many types of natural and artificial water-filled containers that vary in organic matter content and exposure to sunlight. Larvae are most often found in...