Influence of host distribution on foraging behaviour in the hyperparasitoid wasp, Dendrocerus carpenteri |
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Authors: | Andrew Chow |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Canada;(2) Present address: Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Southwest Florida Research and Education Center, University of Florida, 2686 State Road 29 N, Immokalee, FL 34142-9515, USA |
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Abstract: | The foraging behaviour of Dendrocerus carpenteriCurtis (Hymenoptera: Megaspilidae), an ectophagous hyperparasitoid of aphidiine wasps inside mummified aphids, was examined in the laboratory with an experimental system consisting of broad bean, Vicia fabaL, the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisumHarris, and a primary parasitoid, Ephedrus californicusBaker. Pea aphids parasitised by E. californicusoften disperse from their feeding sites (or off host plants) before dying and mummifying. Response of female hyperparasitoids to host distribution was evaluated at two spatial scales. At the first scale, behaviour of hyperparasitoids was examined on individual plants with different densities of hosts. At the second scale, habitat complexity and host location were manipulated in large foraging cages containing several plants. I show that patterns of density-dependent hyperparasitism can result from the foraging behaviour of D. carpenteri. However, dispersal of parasitised aphids may not reduce the incidence of hyperparasitism if hyperparasitoids systematically search the habitat. |
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Keywords: | aphid hyperparasitioid foraging behaviour Dendrocerus Ephedrus Aphidiinae mummification site host distribution host density |
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