Host insects are either susceptible or resistant to parasitoids, where resistant hosts express immunity factors and compatible parasitoids express virulence factors that may reveal the manipulation of susceptible hosts. Using proteomics we compared responses of the same host, the aphid Macrosiphum euphorbiae, challenged by a well-adapted parasitoid Aphidius nigripes or by a less adapted relativ...

In surveys of apple-production areas east of the Cascade Mountains of Washington, broadleaf plantain, Plantago major Linnaeus (Plantaginaceae) was common throughout while narrowleaf plantain, P. lanceolata Linnaeus, was most common south of Orondo, Douglas County (47.7u latitude). Rosy apple aphid was the most common aphid on these two herbaceous plants; however, colonies were scarce, on only 1...

Functioning of plant-aphid-natural enemy interactions may be associated with the structure and composition of withinfield vegetation, neighborhood fields and field borders, and the regional plant community of cropped and noncropped areas. Farmand region-scale vegetation in the wheat-growing area of the North American Great Plains was hypothesized to effect the abundance of two hymenopteran para...

The mutualistic relationships that occur between myrmecophilous aphids and ants are based on the rich food supply that honeydew represents for ants and on the protection they provide against aphid natural enemies. While aphid predators and parasitoids actively forage for oviposition sites by using aphid semiochemicals, scouts of aphid-tending ant species would also benefit from locating honeyde...

The cotton aphid Aphis gossypii Glover is the main aphid pest in cotton fields in the Yangtze River Valley Cotton-planting Zone (YRZ) in central China. Various natural enemies may attack the cotton aphid in Bt cotton fields but no studies have identified potential specific top-down forces that could help manage this pest in the YRZ in China. In order to identify possibilities for managing the c...

Climate change is causing the poleward range-shift of many species, with consequent modifications to daylight regimes and potential impacts on light-cycle activity patterns ecological interactions. Day-active parasitoids experiencing longer summer days associated a range shift display increased attack rates their aphid hosts have higher lifetime fecundity. Theory consequently predicts that incr...

Habitat selection by dispersers is the focus of much theoretical models, most of which are based on the assumption of negative density dependence. The archetype of these models is the ideal free distribution, characterized by an evolutionary stable state where more competitors aggregate in better habitats, so that the fitness benefit of resource abundance is equally offset by the cost of compet...

Intake of sugar-rich foods by adult parasitoids is crucial for their reproductive success. This is an aspect of parasitoid biology that warrants special attention in the biological control of pests. Facilitating access to suitable foods might help optimize the efficacy of parasitoids as biological control agents. In situations where nectar is not readily available, homopteran honeydew can be a ...

BACKGROUND Parasitoids are frequently used in biological control due to the fact that they are considered host specific and highly efficient at attacking their hosts. As they spend a significant part of their life cycle within their hosts, feeding habits and life history of their host can promote specialization via host-race formation (sequential radiation). The specialized host races from diff...

The host range of insect parasitoids and herbivores is influenced by both preference-related traits which mediate host choice behaviour, and performance-related traits which mediate the physiological suitability of the consumer-resource interaction. In a previous study, we characterised the influence of preference- and performance-related traits on the host range of the aphid parasitoid Binodox...