Many insects defend themselves against predation by being distasteful or toxic. The chemicals involved may be sequestered from their diet synthesized de novo in the insects’ body tissues. Parasitoid wasps are a diverse group of that play critical role regulating host insect populations such as lepidopteran caterpillars. successful parasitization caterpillars parasitoid is contingent upon aptitu...

In the comprehensive rearing of lepidopterans from peninsular India, eleven species of Lycaenidae were parasitized by ten species of wasps. Four new taxa of lycaenid associated microgastrine wasps Parapanteles eros Gupta n. sp., P. arka Gupta n. sp., P. esha Gupta n. sp., and P. regale Gupta n. sp. reared from Chilades pandava (Horsfield), Curetis thetis (Drury), Prosotas dubiosa (Semper), Taju...

Background: Endoparasitoid wasps inject venom proteins at oviposition to alter host immunity. Results: The venom of Leptopilina boulardi but not of a related species contains an active extracellular SOD. Recombinant SODs inhibit the Drosophila host phenoloxidase activity. Conclusion: An extracellular SOD is secreted and active in an insect fluid. Significance: SODs may be used as immune suppres...

Despite the diverse array of mating systems and life histories which characterise the parasitic Hymenoptera, sexual selection and sexual conflict in this taxon have been somewhat overlooked. For instance, parasitoid mating systems have typically been studied in terms of how mating structure affects sex allocation. In the past decade, however, some studies have sought to address sexual selection...

Millions of years of co-evolution have driven parasites to display very complex and exquisite strategies to manipulate the behaviour of their hosts. However, although parasite-induced behavioural manipulation is a widespread phenomenon, the underlying neuronal mechanisms are only now beginning to be deciphered. Here, we review recent advancements in the study of the mechanisms by which parasito...

Dyadic contests for possession of resources occur across a wide range of animal taxa, with contest outcome often being heavily influenced by the energetic reserves of the competitors. The majority of studied parasitoid wasps lack de novo lipogenesis, with adult lipid reserves being limited to those acquired throughout larval development. Carbohydrateand lipid-rich diets can increase adult paras...

abstract information on hyperparasitoid wasps of figitidae family in iran, in comparison to the numerous studies carried out in north america and europe is very rare. so we have studied to determine the diversity of parasitoid wasps of aphids on stone fruit trees during 2009-2010 in khorasan razavi province-iran. several species of hyperparasitoid wasps were collected which among them, alloxyst...

Spalangia endius were collected from fly pupae, primarily house fly and stable fly, from a poultry house in Indiana. Male and female wasps did not differ within and across host species in host size usage. Also, despite stable fly pupae being significantly smaller than house fly pupae, the proportion of male wasps emerging from the two host species was similar. __________________________________...

Green roofs are often installed atop buildings to provide ecological services such as mitigating storm water runoff and cooling air within urban heat islands. We found that green in Portland, Oregon, also can support biodiversity, including a diverse assemblage of parasitoid wasps, with 20 morphospecies from 10 families present on the four we surveyed. The greater plant diversity structural com...