A limit on the extent to which increased egg size can compensate for a poor postnatal environment revealed experimentally in the burying beetle,Nicrophorus vespilloides

It is often assumed that there is a positive relationship between egg size and offspring fitness. However, recent studies have suggested that egg size has a greater effect on offspring fitness in low‐quality environments than in high‐quality environments. Such observations suggest that mothers may compensate for poor posthatching environments by increasing egg size. In this paper we test whether there is a limit on the extent to which increased egg size can compensate for the removal of posthatching parental care in the burying beetle, Nicrophorus vespilloides. Previous experiments with N. vespilloides suggest that an increased egg size can compensate for a relatively poor environment after hatching. Here, we phenotypically engineered female N. vespilloides to produce large or small eggs by varying the amount of time they were allowed to feed on the carcass as larvae. We then tested whether differences between these groups in egg size translated into differences in larval performance in a harsh postnatal environment that excluded parental care. We found that females engineered to produce large eggs did not have higher breeding success, and nor did they produce larger larvae than females engineered to produce small eggs. These results suggest that there is a limit on the extent to which increased maternal investment in egg size can compensate for a poor posthatching environment. We discuss the implication of our results for a recent study showing that experimental N. vespilloides populations can adapt rapidly to the absence of posthatching parental care.     

Paternal effects on early life history traits in Northwest Atlantic cod,Gadus morhua

It is important to understand parental effects on early life history of fish as manifested, for example, in individual fitness of offspring. Immediately after fertilization, parental contributions (both genetic and non‐genetic) to embryos will affect larval ontogeny, physiology, morphology and survival. In marine fish, rates of natural mortality are highest during early life and are negatively correlated with rates of growth and body size. In these early life stages (eggs, larvae, young juveniles) subtle differences in mortality can cause large differences in recruitment and year‐class success. Therefore, it is particularly critical to understand factors that contribute to variability in mortality during early life. This study focuses on evaluating the potential influence of paternity on rates of mortality and development in eggs and larvae of Northwest Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua. To accomplish this 12 males and two females were crossed using a full‐factorial breeding design. Paternity had a strong influence on fertilization success, hatching success, cumulative embryonic mortality, larval standard length, eye diameter, yolk‐sac area, and cumulative larval mortality. Female 1 showed an overall ‘weaker’ performance of offspring than Female 2, indicating that deviances can stem from differences in female quality. Nevertheless, paternal contributions to embryonic and larval development were still evident despite differences in female quality, showing that sire effects on offspring are undeniable and can serve as important sources of variation during early life stages in fishes. Overall, these findings have implications for furthering the understanding of recruitment variability and can be used to optimize reproductive output for the aquaculture industry. In addition, the data suggests that the choice of mate during spawning can play a large role in offspring fitness.     

Seasonal variation in pre‐fledging survival of lesser scaup Aythya affinis: hatch date effects depend on maternal body mass

Among temperate‐breeding birds, offspring survival and reproductive success are often inversely related to timing of breeding. The mechanisms that produce seasonal declines in offspring survival are not fully understood but may be related to temporal changes in parental quality, environmental quality, or both. We analyzed data for lesser scaup Aythya affinis to evaluate hypothesized effects of parental quality and date on pre‐fledging survival. Maternal quality, as indexed by body mass, did not have an independent effect on offspring survival in this species. Maternal body mass did not decline seasonally and did not have an independent effect on duckling survival. Although we did not detect an independent effect of hatch date on duckling survival, duckling survival declined seasonally for broods raised by lightweight females, indicating an interactive effect of maternal mass and date. We hypothesize that this interaction may be driven by seasonally declining food resources coupled with the influence of female condition on the ability to monopolize food resources or remain attentive to the brood. We also tested morphological predictions of the date hypothesis by examining physical characteristics of ducklings. When corrected for age and size, late‐hatched ducklings tended to have marginally larger digestive systems and smaller leg muscles than did early‐hatched birds. Abundances of intestinal parasites acquired through diet decreased marginally in late‐hatched ducklings. Results for digestive system and parasite infection patterns suggested that later‐hatched broods may shift diets, consistent with a contribution of environmental factors to seasonal variation in offspring survival. Taken together, our results suggest that both female attributes and environmental conditions may influence seasonal patterns of offspring survival in this species.     

Pathogen's level and parasitism rate in Ips typographus at high population densities: importance of time

We compared the levels of pathogen infection in parental beetles, parasitism of the offspring, abundance of predators and breeding performance success of univoltine populations of Ips typographus in plots characterized by short‐term (2–3 years) outbreaks vs. those with long‐term (>10 years) outbreaks on two localities at ca. 1100 m altitude in the ?umava Mts. The numbers of I. typographus were high in all plots, whether the plots were characterized by long‐term outbreaks or short‐term outbreaks. The numbers of maternal galleries in the sample areas ranged from 300 to 400 per m². The density of parental beetle galleries, abundance of surviving specimens of I. typographus, and length of maternal galleries did not differ between plots. The short‐term outbreaks had only fewer ectoparasitoids of I. typographus and a lower percentage of parasitism and infection level of Mattesia schwenkei than the long‐term outbreaks even though the maternal gallery densities and beetle production were the same. The most mortality appeared to be caused by intraspecific larval competition, and the identical reproductive success in plots with short‐term and long‐term outbreaks indicates that the negative feedback resulting from parasitoids and entomopathogens does not substantially reduce beetle numbers. Although entomopathogenic fungi as Beauveria bassiana occur naturally in the galleries of spruce bark beetles, there was no evidence of its presence in the studied population. The low levels of predation and/or parasitism in both kinds of plots indicate that natural enemies did not play a significant role in reducing outbreak numbers of I. typographus.     

Parental care influences social immunity in burying beetle larvae

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Morphological features,development and reproduction of Melittobia acasta on Bombus terrestris

Morphological features, development and reproduction behavior of the parasite Melittobia acasta (Walker) were studied when reared on the pupae of the bumblebee Bombus terrestris L. in the laboratory under 23°C, 50% relative humidity and 12 h light : 12 h dark conditions. The parasites laid transparent white and elongated eggs. Newly hatched larval size and shape were very similar to eggs but they were identified by their body segments. Larvae increased their body size through moulting and transformed into a vermiform shape. Male pupae were shiny brown with dots. The female pupae were distinguished by their black shiny color, shorter size and the presence of compound eyes. Adult male pupae were dark brown and dwarf‐winged, whereas female pupae were macropterous and brachypterous. Reproduction took place by fertilization and also parthenogenetically. Mean fecundity within 5 days by mated (47.9 ± 30.5 female^?1) and virgin (7.4 ± 6.8 female^?1) females were statistically different. Mated females laid fertilized eggs that produced adult males or females, whereas virgin females laid unfertilized eggs that produced males. Development durations of the virgin female originated eggs, larvae, pupae and adults were statistically identical with those of mated females. The parasites were female‐biased and foundress number did not affect offspring sex ratio. This study shows that both mated and virgin females of M. acasta can produce many offspring on B. terrestris pupae within a short period, indicating that they are dangerous parasites of the bumblebee in a mass rearing system.     

Water mold infection but not paternity induces selective filial cannibalism in a goby

Many animals heavily invest in parental care but still reject at least some of their offspring. Although seemingly paradoxical, selection can favor parents to neglect offspring of particularly low reproductive value, for example, because of small survival chances. We here assess whether filial cannibalism (FC), where parents routinely eat some of their own young, is selective in response to individual offspring reproductive value. We performed two independent laboratory experiments in the common goby (Pomatoschistus microps) to test whether caring fathers preferentially cannibalize eggs of a given infection history and paternity. While males did not discriminate kin from nonkin eggs, they consumed significantly more eggs previously exposed to water mold compared to uninfected eggs. Our findings clearly show that parents differentiate between eggs based on differences in egg condition, and thus complement the prevailing view that FC arises for energetic reasons. By preventing the spread of microbial infections, the removal of molded eggs can constitute an important component of parental care and may represent a key driver of selective FC in a wide array of parental fish.     

Oviposition preference and offspring performance in container breeding mosquitoes: evaluating the effects of organic compounds and laboratory colonisation

1. The preference–performance hypothesis (PPH) predicts that organisms lacking parental care should oviposit in habitats that optimise offspring performance. Preference–performance relationships were investigated for the Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus Skuse) and the southern house mosquito (Culex quinquefasciatus Say) (Diptera: Culicidae), two medically important container‐breeding species, in response to an organic chemical blend mimicking decaying plant matter. Additionally, the effects of long‐term laboratory colonisation of Cx. quinquefasciatus using wild and laboratory strains were evaluated. 2. Oviposition bioassays were conducted by releasing gravid mosquitoes into field enclosures with automobile tires containing low and high concentrations of the chemical blend, and water controls. The offspring were then reared in water collected from the tires in which they were deposited. 3. Aedes albopictus and wild Cx. quinquefasciatus laid more eggs in the chemical blend than water controls but did not differentiate between the low and high concentrations. Conversely, laboratory Cx. quinquefasciatus only preferred the high concentration to the low concentration. No statistical associations between oviposition preference and larval survival were found, as the chemical blend did not affect survivorship of either species. 4. The oviposition preference for the chemical blend over water controls suggests that both species oviposit in the best available resource environment, but further studies are needed before conclusions regarding preference–performance relationships can be drawn. 5. It was found that long‐term laboratory colonisation affects the oviposition behaviour in Cx. quinquefasciatus, suggesting that behavioural studies on laboratory strains are not always applicable to wild populations.     

Female Oviposition Decisions and Their Impact on Progeny Life-History Traits

An important factor affecting the life-history of an organism is parental investment in reproduction: reproductive decisions are almost invariably costly. Therefore, reproductive decisions should be beneficial in terms of increased offspring number or fitness. For example, egg laying decisions in many insects can influence resource availability of the offspring through changes in the larval density, and resource availability will have effects on many life-history traits. Here we studied whether female reproductive decisions affect offspring fitness in Callosobruchus maculatus seed beetles. Females laid more eggs on black-eye beans than on mung beans. However, when the difference in the surface area of the beans was accounted for, the number of eggs was not higher in black-eye beans. This together with the poisson distribution of eggs on each of the bean types suggests that females tend to lay their eggs randomly. We found that development time was longer, larval mortality lower and adult survival higher in black-eye beans. We also found interactions between bean type and larval density on size of the offspring such that in mung beans the emergence mass and pronotum width decreased with increasing larval density, but in black-eye beans larval density did not affect the size measures. We conclude that when there is a risk that larval denisty will become high within a bean and there is variable resources available, there exist clear benefits that females might obtain by choosing black-eye beans as a resource for their offspring. However, in contrast to many earlier studies, our results suggest that females may not be making any active oviposition decisions. Therefore, to unequivocally determine whether females do capitalise the potential benefits by active decision making, some further experimentation is required.     

Parent–Offspring Conflict over the Transition to Independence in Nicrophorus vespilloides: Parental Chemical Cues and Offspring Begging

In species where parents provide their offspring with food, the offspring must undergo a transition from nutritional dependency to independence. Parent–offspring conflict theory predicts that the optimal timing for this transition will differ between parents and offspring and that the realised timing depends on each party’s ability to control the transition. The burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides is an excellent species for studying conflict over the transition to independence; the larvae beg for pre‐digested carrion from their parents until they cease begging around 72 h after hatching. The cessation of begging is not associated with changes in parental behaviour, suggesting that the transition is mostly under offspring control. However, recent work has demonstrated that caring parents express distinct chemical cues that stimulate larval begging, the expression of which varies between breeding and non‐breeding beetles, suggesting that parents might exert control over the transition to independence by altering these cues throughout development. If so, we predict that begging larvae should behave differently towards parental chemical cues from different stages of development and that larvae of different ages should behave similarly towards parental chemical cues from the same stage of development. We found no evidence for either prediction: begging larvae did not behave differently towards parental chemical cues from different stages of development, and larvae of different ages still behaved differently towards parental chemical cues from the same stage of development. Our results provide no support for the hypothesis that parents can control the transition to nutritional independence by altering their chemical profiles.     

Alloparental care in the sea: Brood parasitism and adoption within and between two species of coral reef Altrichthys damselfish?

The evolution of parental care opens the door for the evolution of brood parasitic strategies that allow individuals to gain the benefits of parental care without paying the costs. Here we provide the first documentation for alloparental care in coral reef fish and we discuss why these patterns may reflect conspecific and interspecific brood parasitism. Species‐specific barcodes revealed the existence of low levels (3.5% of all offspring) of mixed interspecific broods, mostly juvenile Amblyglyphidodon batunai and Pomacentrus smithi damselfish in Altrichthys broods. A separate analysis of conspecific parentage based on microsatellite markers revealed that mixed parentage broods are common in both species, and the genetic patterns are consistent with two different modes of conspecific brood parasitism, although further studies are required to determine the specific mechanisms responsible for these mixed parentage broods. While many broods had offspring from multiple parasites, in many cases a given brood contained only a single foreign offspring, perhaps a consequence of the movement of lone juveniles between nests. In other cases, broods contained large numbers of putative parasitic offspring from the same parents and we propose that these are more likely to be cases where parasitic adults laid a large number of eggs in the host nest than the result of movements of large numbers of offspring from a single brood after hatching. The evidence that these genetic patterns reflect adaptive brood parasitism, as well as possible costs and benefits of parasitism to hosts and parasites, are discussed.     

Chronic malaria infections increase family inequalities and reduce parental fitness: experimental evidence from a wild bird population

Avian malaria parasites (Plasmodium) occur commonly in wild birds and are an increasingly popular model system for understanding host–parasite co‐evolution. However, whether these parasites have fitness consequences for hosts in endemic areas is much debated, particularly since wild‐caught individuals almost always harbour chronic infections of very low parasite density. We used the anti‐malarial drug Malarone^TM to test experimentally for fitness effects of chronic malaria infection in a wild population of breeding blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus). Medication caused a pronounced reduction in Plasmodium infection intensity, usually resulting in complete clearance of these parasites from the blood, as revealed by quantitative PCR. Positive effects of medication on malaria‐infected birds were found at multiple stages during breeding, with medicated females showing higher hatching success, provisioning rates and fledging success compared to controls. Most strikingly, we found that treatment of maternal malaria infections strongly altered within‐family differences, with reduced inequality in hatching probability and fledging mass within broods reared by medicated females. These within‐brood effects appear to explain higher fledging success among medicated females and are consistent with a model of parental optimism in which smaller (marginal) offspring can be successfully raised to independence if additional resources become available during the breeding attempt. Overall, these results demonstrate that chronic avian malaria infections, far from being benign, can have significant effects on host fitness and may thus constitute an important selection pressure in wild bird populations.     

Adaptive egg size plasticity for larval competition and its limits in the seed beetle Callosobruchus chinensis

Life‐history theory predicts that females who experienced stressful conditions, such as larval competition or malnutrition, should increase their investment in individual offspring to increase offspring fitness (the adaptive parental hypothesis). In contrast, it has been shown that when females were reared under stressful conditions, they become smaller, which consequently decreases egg size (the parental stress hypothesis). To test whether females adjust their egg volume depending on larval competition, independent of maternal body mass constraint, we used a pest species of stored adzuki beans, Callosobruchus chinensis (L.) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Bruchinae). The eggs of females reared with competitors were smaller than those of females reared alone, supporting the parental stress hypothesis; however, correcting for female body size, females reared with competitors produced larger eggs than those reared in the absence of competition, supporting the adaptive parental hypothesis, as predicted. The phenotypic plasticity in females' investment in each offspring in stressful environments counteracts the constraint of body size on egg size.     

Effects of variation in resource acquisition during different stages of the life cycle on life‐history traits and trade‐offs in a burying beetle

Individual variation in resource acquisition should have consequences for life‐history traits and trade‐offs between them because such variation determines how many resources can be allocated to different life‐history functions, such as growth, survival and reproduction. Since resource acquisition can vary across an individual's life cycle, the consequences for life‐history traits and trade‐offs may depend on when during the life cycle resources are limited. We tested for differential and/or interactive effects of variation in resource acquisition in the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides. We designed an experiment in which individuals acquired high or low amounts of resources across three stages of the life cycle: larval development, prior to breeding and the onset of breeding in a fully crossed design. Resource acquisition during larval development and prior to breeding affected egg size and offspring survival, respectively. Meanwhile, resource acquisition at the onset of breeding affected size and number of both eggs and offspring. In addition, there were interactive effects between resource acquisition at different stages on egg size and offspring survival. However, only when females acquired few resources at the onset of breeding was there evidence for a trade‐off between offspring size and number. Our results demonstrate that individual variation in resource acquisition during different stages of the life cycle has important consequences for life‐history traits but limited effects on trade‐offs. This suggests that in species that acquire a fixed‐sized resource at the onset of breeding, the size of this resource has larger effects on life‐history trade‐offs than resources acquired at earlier stages.     

Effect of Population Density and Female Body Size on Number and Size of Offspring in a Species with Size‐Dependent Contests over Resources

When size‐dependent contests over resources influence reproductive success, the trade‐off between number and size of offspring depends on the frequency of contests. Under these circumstances, clutch size should decrease and offspring size should increase as contests become more frequent. We tested these predictions with the burying beetle Nicrophorus pustulatus through manipulation of rearing densities. Burying beetles reproduce on small vertebrate carcasses, a rare but high quality food source for the larvae. Large beetles are more likely to win contests over carcasses and gain exclusive access to a carcass. The winner of a contest kills eggs and larvae already present on a carcass. As a result of the rarity of carcasses, burying beetles are unlikely to breed more than once. As predicted, brood size of N. pustulatus decreased with increasing rearing density. Despite a negative correlation between brood size and larval mass, larval mass did not increase with increasing rearing density. This may be due to the special biology of N. pustulatus which can use snake eggs for reproduction. Potentially larger supply of resources and generally small population densities of N. pustulatus may weaken selection on body size and thus the correlation between brood size and larval mass. As size‐dependent constraints can limit reproductive phenotypes, we examined whether female size influenced reproductive phenotype. Small females produced larger broods with smaller, but more variable, offspring than large females. Mechanical constraints of egg size seem an unlikely explanation for the differences because burying beetles can compensate for small egg size through parental care. Energetic constraints may impact small females because body mass and brood size of small females decreased with increasing density. Yet, at all density levels small females produced larger, not smaller, broods than large females. The larger and more variable broods of small females seem to be in agreement with a bet‐hedging strategy.     

Brood parasitism,relatedness and sociality: a kinship role in female reproductive tactics

Conspecific brood parasitism (CBP) is a reproductive tactic in which parasitic females lay eggs in nests of other females of the same species that then raise the joint brood. Parasites benefit by increased reproduction, without costs of parental care for the parasitic eggs. CBP occurs in many egg‐laying animals, among birds most often in species with large clutches and self‐feeding young: two major factors facilitating successful parasitism. CBP is particularly common in waterfowl (Anatidae), a group with female‐biased natal philopatry and locally related females. Theory suggests that relatedness between host and parasite can lead to inclusive fitness benefits for both, but if host costs are high, parasites should instead target unrelated females. Pairwise relatedness (r) in host–parasite (h‐p) pairs of females has been estimated using molecular genetic methods in seven waterfowl (10 studies). In many h‐p pairs, the two females were unrelated (with low r, near the local population mean). However, close relatives (r = 0.5) were over‐represented in h‐p pairs, which in all 10 studies had higher mean relatedness than other females. In one species where this was studied, h‐p relatedness was higher than between nesting close neighbours, and hosts parasitized by non‐relatives aggressively rejected other females. In another species, birth nest‐mates (mother–daughters, sisters) associated in the breeding area as adults, and became h‐p pairs more often than expected by chance. These and other results point to recognition of birth nest‐mates and perhaps other close relatives. For small to medium host clutch sizes, addition of a few parasitic eggs need not reduce host offspring success. Estimates in two species suggest that hosts can then gain inclusive fitness if parasitized by relatives. Other evidence of female cooperation is incubation by old eider Somateria mollissima females of clutches laid by their relatives, and merging and joint care of broods of young. Merging females tended to be more closely related. Eiders associate with kin in many situations, and in some geese and swans, related females may associate over many years. Recent genetic evidence shows that also New World quails (Odontophoridae) have female‐biased natal philopatry, CBP and brood merging, inviting further study and comparison with waterfowl. Kin‐related parasitism also occurs in some insects, with revealing parallels and differences compared to birds. In hemipteran bugs, receiving extra eggs is beneficial for hosts by diluting offspring predation. In eggplant lace bugs Gargaphia solani, host and parasite are closely related, and kin selection favours egg donation to related females. Further studies of kinship in CBP, brood merging and other contexts can test if some of these species are socially more advanced than presently known.     

Intra‐ and trans‐generational effects of larval diet on susceptibility to an entomopathogenic fungus,Beauveria bassiana,in the greater wax moth,Galleria mellonella

In addition to nutritional conditions experienced by individuals themselves, those experienced by their parents can affect their immune function. Here, we studied the intra‐ and trans‐generational effects of larval diet on susceptibility to an entomopathogenic fungus, Beauveria bassiana, in the greater wax moth, Galleria mellonella. In the first part of the study, a split‐brood design was used to compare the susceptibility of full sibs raised either on low‐ or on high‐nutrition larval diet. In the second part of the study, a similar experimental design was employed to investigate the effects of maternal and paternal diet as well as their interaction on offspring's susceptibility. In the first part of the study, we found that individuals fed with high‐nutrition diet had higher mortality from infection than individuals fed with low‐nutrition diet. However, diet did not affect post‐infection survival time. Conversely, in the second part of the study, maternal diet was found to have no significant effect on final mortality rate of offspring, but it affected survival time: larvae with high‐nutrition maternal diet survived fewer days after infection than larvae with low‐nutrition maternal diet. Paternal diet had no significant effect on offspring's susceptibility to the fungus, indicating that paternal effects are not as important as maternal effects in influencing immune function in this species. Our findings provide further indication that maternal nutrition affects immune function in insects, and suggest that the direct effects of nutrition on immunity may be different, yet parallel, to those caused by parental nutrition.     

Ascarophis sp. (Nematoda: Spirurida) attaining sexual maturity inGammarus spp. (Crustacea)

Ascarophis sp., including sexually mature adult worms, was commonly recorded in the amphipodGammarus oceanicus Segerstrle in the northern Baltic Sea and also inGammarus sp. in estuarine localities in the New Brunswick region of the north-western Atlantic. Species of the genusAscarophis van Beneden (Nematoda: Cystidicolidae) are known as parasites of marine and brackish water fishes, whereas generally only larval forms have been reported from crustaceans. Adults as well as larval stages are described (LM and SEM) and the infection dynamics is analysed in relation to the amphipod population. The results suggest a direct transmission of embryonated eggs to new amphipods, although this remains to be verified experimentally.     

Avian malaria is associated with increased reproductive investment in the blue tit

Haemosporidians causing avian malaria are very common parasites among bird species. Their negative effects have been repeatedly reported in terms of deterioration in survival prospects or reproductive success. However, a positive association between blood parasites and avian fitness has also been reported. Here, we studied a relationship between presence of malaria parasites and reproductive performance of the host, a hole‐breeding passerine – the blue tit Cyanistes caeruleus. Since the malaria parasites might affect their hosts differently depending on environmental conditions, we performed brood size manipulation experiment to differentiate parental reproductive effort and study the potential interaction between infection status and brood rearing conditions on reproductive performance. We found individuals infected with malaria parasites to breed later in the season in comparison with uninfected birds, but no differences were detected in clutch size. Interestingly, infected parents produced heavier and larger offspring with stronger reaction to phytohemagglutinin. More importantly, we found a significant interaction between infection status and brood size manipulation in offspring tarsus length and reaction to phytohemagglutinin: presence of parasites had stronger positive effect among birds caring for experimentally enlarged broods. Our results might be interpreted either in the light of the parasite‐mediated selection or terminal investment hypothesis.     

No evidence for behavioural adaptations to nematode parasitism by the fly Drosophila putrida

Behavioural adaptations of hosts to their parasites form an important component of the evolutionary dynamics of host–parasite interactions. As mushroom‐feeding Drosophila can tolerate deadly mycotoxins, but their Howardula nematode parasites cannot, we asked how consuming the potent mycotoxin α‐amanitin has affected this host–parasite interaction. We used the fly D. putrida and its parasite H. aoronymphium, which is both highly virulent and at high prevalence in some populations, and investigated whether adult flies utilize food with toxin to prevent infection in the next generation or consume the toxin to reduce the virulence of an already established infection. First, we found that uninfected females did not prefer to eat or lay their eggs on toxic food, indicating that selection has not acted on the flies to alter their behaviour towards α‐amanitin to prevent their offspring from becoming infected by Howardula. However, we cannot rule out that flies use an alternate cue that is associated with toxin presence in the wild. Second, we found that infected females did not prefer to eat food with α‐amanitin and that consuming α‐amanitin did not cure or reduce the virulence of the parasite in adults that were already infected. In sum, our results indicate there are no direct effects of eating α‐amanitin on this host–parasite interaction, and we suggest that toxin tolerance is more likely maintained by selection due to competition for resources than as a mechanism to avoid parasite infection or to reduce the virulence of infection.