HOST‐FEEDING STRATEGIES IN HYMENOPTERAN PARASITOIDS | Semantic Scholar

Developmental history and behavior of Eretmocerus mundus Mercet, a parasitoid of Bemisia tabaci was studied at 25 °C and it was found that the second and third instars are preferred.

This work discusses each of the oviposition decisions in light of natural selection theory to illustrate the utility of understanding the selective forces acting on ovipositing females.

Four models incorporating density-related parasitoid sex-ratio are presented and are shown to be locally stable over a broad range of host depression below carrying capacity, which are a characteristic feature of successful biological control programmes using natural enemies.

While Diadegma may select and forage preferentially on plants with higher host density, they do not exhibit the tendency, predicted by some optional foraging models, to exploit progressively less profitable plants during a foraging bout.

Marietta was the most efficient; it eliminated the population of the host whereas Cheiloneurus and Pachyneuron were not able to do so, and the superiority of Marietta may be partly due to the fact that it is capable of utilizing its competitors as hosts, whereas they cannot develop upon it.

The natural history of the parasitoids attacking Asteromyia carbonifera (O.S.) (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) was studied and a negative correlation was found between the number of hosts per gall and the percent parasitism inflicted by T. tesserus.

Factors such as parasitoid foraging behaviour, fecundity, larval survival and sex ratio are shown to be important in influencing the depression of host populations and/or the stability of host–parasitoid interactions after depression.

It was demonstrated that frozen puparia were not less attractive for females of M. raptor than fresh ones andHost pupae stored under freezing temperatures or heat showed a higher hatching rate of the parasitoid than new ones.