The influence of prior ovipositional experience on host selection in four species of aphidiid wasps (Hymenoptera: Aphidiidae)

We evaluated the influence of prior ovipositional experience on host selection in four solitary parasitoids, Aphidius erviHaliday, A. pisivorusSmith, A. smithiSharma & Subba Rao, and Praon pequodorumViereck (Hymenoptera: Aphidiidae). When provided simultaneously with equal numbers of two species of aphids, Acyrthosiphon pisum(Harris) and Macrosiphum creeliiDavis (Homoptera: Aphididae), all four parasitoids showed a moderate to strong preference for A. pisum.This preference did not increase after sampling, except in P. pequodorum.Learning did not alter host selection behavior in A. erviand P. pequodorum.However, females of A. pisivorusconditioned on A. pisumselected fewer M. creeliithan unconditioned wasps and wasps conditioned on M. creelii.It is suggested that prior ovipositional experience influences a parasitoid's expectations of the kinds of hosts available, but it does not alter the (innate) rank order of hosts.