Temporal Shifts in Conspicuousness: Mate Attraction Displays of the Texas Field Cricket, Gryllus texensis

Conspicuous mate attraction displays can simultaneously draw the attention of potential mates and predators, placing the signaller in peril of becoming prey. The balance between these countervailing forms of selection has the potential to shape mate attraction displays. Male Texas field crickets (Gryllus texensis; Orthoptera) signal acoustically to attract mates. Mating signals also attract acoustically orienting parasitoid flies (Ormia ochracea; Tachinidae). Both the abundance of female crickets and parasitoid flies fluctuates throughout the night. We show mate attraction displays exhibit diel shifts that correlate positively with expected female cricket presence and negatively with expected parasitoid fly activity. During early evening, when parasitoids are most common and mating is scarce, crickets signal less often and with reduced conspicuousness. During the second half of the evening, when sexually receptive females are abundant and parasitoids are scarce, crickets signal more often and with enhanced conspicuousness. These diel shifts in mate attraction displays do not appear to result from male crickets detecting parasitoid flies or female crickets and altering their behaviour accordingly. Males in close proximity to parasitoid flies or female crickets do not signal differently than lone males. Instead, diel pattern shifts in mate attraction displays appear to be a selective response to trade‐offs between natural selection via parasitism and sexual selection via mate choice.     

Reduced reproductive effort in male field crickets infested with parasitoid fly larvae

Some populations of the field cricket Teleogryllus oceanicusare parasitized by the phonotactic fly Ormia ochracea. Flieslocate crickets by their song and deposit larvae onto them.The larvae develop inside the cricket for 1 week before killingthe host upon emergence. The reproductive compensation hypothesispredicts that parasitized crickets should increase their reproductiveeffort during the initial stages of infestation to offset theloss of fitness resulting from their shortened life span. An alternative hypothesis predicts that parasitized crickets willdecrease reproduction, either because they are unable to reproduceor because selection acting on the parasitoid favors decreasedhost reproduction. In laboratory experiments, parasitized malecrickets had reduced reproductive effort (spermatophore production,calling, mating activity, and mass allocated to reproductivetissue) compared to unparasitized males. Parasitized males fedad libitum showed no evidence of allocating a greater proportionof their resources to reproduction. Parasitized and healthymales did not differ significantly in resting or maximal metabolicrates, although this may have been due to the substantial contributionof larval respiration to the metabolic rate of the host—parasitoidcomplex. These results are consistent with previous studiesand suggest that T. oceanicus males parasitized by O. ochraceado not increase their reproductive effort. We discuss potentialreasons that crickets do not increase reproductive effort inresponse to fly larvae and address difficulties in demonstratingaltered life-history patterns in response to parasitism.     

Calling,Courtship, and Condition in the Fall Field Cricket,Gryllus pennsylvanicus

Theoretically, sexual signals should provide honest information about mating benefits and many sexually reproducing species use honest signals when signalling to potential mates. Male crickets produce two types of acoustic mating signals: a long-distance mate attraction call and a short-range courtship call. We tested whether wild-caught fall field cricket (Gryllus pennsylvanicus) males in high condition (high residual mass or large body size) produce higher effort calls (in support of the honest signalling hypothesis). We also tested an alternative hypothesis, whether low condition males produce higher effort calls (in support of the terminal investment hypothesis). Several components of long-distance mate attraction calls honestly reflected male body size, with larger males producing louder mate attraction calls at lower carrier frequencies. Long-distance mate attraction chirp rate dishonestly signalled body size, with small males producing faster chirp rates. Short-range courtship calls dishonestly reflected male residual mass, as chirp rate and pulse rate were best explained by a curvilinear function of residual mass. By producing long-distance mate attraction calls and courtship calls with similar or higher effort compared to high condition males, low condition males (low residual mass or small body size) may increase their effort in current reproductive success at the expense of their future reproductive success, suggesting that not all sexual signals are honest.     

Field Cricket Species Differences in the Temporal Patterns of Long-Distance Mate Attraction Signals

We quantify variation in the temporal components of long‐distance mate attraction signals produced by a North American field cricket, Gryllus rubens Scudder. Total signaling time, trilling bout duration, and hourly bout number exhibit high repeatability within individuals. Extensive variation exists across individuals: some males never signal while others signal for several hours each night; of the signalers, average trilling bout duration ranges from <1 min to well over an hour; some males produce only one trilling bout in an evening while others produce three bouts every 2 h. Body size, weight, wing morphology, and condition do not appear to explain the variation. We compare the temporal signaling components of G. rubens with its sister species, G. texensis. Although G. rubens produce slightly more trills per hour with slightly shorter trilling bout durations, the temporal components of these long‐distance mate attraction signals are surprisingly similar across species.     

Reproductive Compensation: A Review of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Gryllus</Emphasis> spp.—<Emphasis Type="Italic">Ormia ochracea</Emphasis> Host-Parasitoid System

Calling male field crickets (Gryllus spp.) are acoustically located and subsequently parasitized by the parasitoid fly, Ormia ochracea (Diptera: Tachinidae). Parasitism by O. ochracea results in cricket death. The reproductive compensation hypothesis posits that when a host’s residual reproductive value decreases, it would be adaptive for that host to shift its resources into current reproduction. Reproductive compensation has not been observed in the cricket-fly system. Here we review the studies to date that have investigated reproductive compensation in the cricket-fly interaction, in an attempt to understand why crickets do not compensate for their future reproductive losses. We conclude that the cricket-fly interaction may not be an ideal system in which to investigate reproductive compensation and furthermore, that reproductive compensation has been poorly investigated in this system.     

Mechanism of mate detection in parasitoid wasps: sound and vibratory cues change with the developmental progress of future mates inside host pupal cases

Insects including parasitoid wasps use acoustic and vibratory signals in the context of sexual communication, mate recognition, courtship and mating. Males of the parasitoid wasp Pimpla disparis Viereck (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) detect insect host pupae parasitized by a conspecific female, learn their location, visit them repeatedly and remain on or near them when the prospective mate nears emergence. In the present study, the acoustic and vibratory cues that males exploit to detect the presence and track the developmental progress of a future mate inside a host pupal case are investigated. Responses are acquired from developing parasitoids (DePa) by airborne sound and laser Doppler vibrometer recordings, after gently stimulating each of 20 wax moth host pupae with a paintbrush on days 1–23 post parasitism. Sound and vibratory cues produced by DePa are detectable from day 7 onward and relate mostly to spinning movements. Parameters of sound and vibratory cues (amplitude, dominant frequency, upper limit of frequency band) change significantly over time and thus could ‘inform’ a visiting adult male about the stage of development of DePa. Adult males antennating a parasitized pupa and flying around it also induce vibrations, which in turn may inform DePa about the presence of a male. There is no experimental evidence for true signalling and rapid information exchange between DePa and adult males. Delaying reply signals may help DePa avoid attacks by illicit receivers of such signals, including female (hyper)parasitoids and invertebrate predators.     

Death comes suddenly to the unprepared: singing crickets, call fragmentation, and parasitoid flies

Male field crickets are subject to a delicate dilemma becausetheir songs simultaneously attract mates and acoustic predators.It has been suggested that in response, crickets have modifiedvarious temporal song parameters to become less attractiveto acoustic predators. We investigated whether crickets withchirping (versus trilling) song structures are less likely toattract acoustically orienting parasitoid flies. Experimentally,we evaluated the phonotactic quest of the parasitoid fly Ormiaochracea in response to broadcast cricket calls, presentedboth simultaneously (choice paradigm) and sequentially (no-choiceparadigm). Flight trajectories were recorded in darkness usingthree-dimensional active infrared video tracking. The flies showed remarkable phonotactic accuracy by landing directly onthe loudspeaker. The introduction of acoustic fragmentationthat resembles calls of many chirping crickets altered theflies' phonotactic accuracy only slightly. Our results documentdifferential attraction between trilling and chirping cricket songs and quantitatively demonstrate that chirping songs, ifpresented alone, do not impair the efficiency (temporal investmentand landing accuracy) of the flies' phonotactic quest. Thisstudy shows that song fragmentation is no safeguard againstacoustic parasitism. We conclude that, in general, a cricket may reduce predation only if its neighbors are acousticallymore conspicuous, chiefly by amplitude.     

Silent night: adaptive disappearance of a sexual signal in a parasitized population of field crickets

Sexual signals are often critical for mate attraction and reproduction, although their conspicuousness exposes them to parasites and predators. We document the near-disappearance of song, the sexual signal of crickets, and its replacement with a novel silent morph, in a population subject to strong natural selection by a deadly acoustically orienting parasitoid fly. On the Hawaiian Island of Kauai, more than 90% of male field crickets (Teleogryllus oceanicus) shifted in less than 20 generations from a normal-wing morphology to a mutated wing that renders males unable to call (flatwing). Flatwing morphology protects male crickets from the parasitoid, which uses song to find hosts, but poses obstacles for mate attraction, since females also use the males' song to locate mates. Field experiments support the hypothesis that flatwings overcome the difficulty of attracting females without song by acting as 'satellites' to the few remaining callers, showing enhanced phonotaxis to the calling song that increases female encounter rate. Thus, variation in behaviour facilitated establishment of an otherwise maladaptive morphological mutation.     

Host stage selection of the mealybug parasitoid Anagyrus spec. nov near sinope

The mealybug parasitoid Anagyrus spec. nov near sinope (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) is an undescribed parasitoid of the Madeira mealybug, Phenacoccus madeirensis Green (Homoptera: Pseudococcidae). We investigated the preference of Anagyrus spec. nov near sinope for six developmental stadia (first‐ and second‐instar nymphs, third‐instar immature females, third‐ or fourth‐instar immature males, pre‐reproductive adult females, and ovipositing adult females) of P. madeirensis and the fitness consequences of the host stage selection behavior. In the no‐choice test, Anagyrus spec. nov near sinope parasitized and completed development in all host stadia except third‐instar immature males. When all host stadia were offered simultaneously, the parasitoids preferred third‐instar immature and pre‐reproductive adult females. Dissection of the stung mealybugs revealed that the clutch size (number of eggs per host) was approximately four and three in the third‐instar and pre‐reproductive females, respectively, and one egg per first‐instar nymph. Parasitoids emerged from P. madeirensis parasitized at third‐instar or pre‐reproductive adult female completed development in the shortest duration, achieved a higher progeny survival rate, larger brood and body size, and the lowest proportion of males. We showed that the continued development of mealybugs had significant influence on the fitness of the parasitoids. Although deposited as eggs in first‐ or second‐instar nymphs, parasitoids emerged from mummies that had attained third‐instar or adult development achieved similar progeny survival rate, brood size, body size, and sex ratio as those parasitoids deposited and developed in third‐instar or adult mealybugs. By delaying larval development in young mealybugs, Anagyrus spec. nov near sinope achieved higher fitness by allowing the parasitized mealybugs to grow and accumulate body size and resources. We suggest that the fitness consequence of host stage selection of a koinobiont parasitoid should be evaluated on both the time of parasitism and the time of mummification.     

Seasonal Variation in Female Response to Male Calling Song in the Field Cricket, Gryllus rubens

Conspicuous traits that make males attractive to females may make them vulnerable to predators. Females that approach conspicuous males may increase their risk of predation. This means that selection for reduced male conspicuousness in the presence of predators may be due to sexual selection resulting from altered female behavior in the face of increased predator risk. We examine this hypothesis in the field cricket, Gryllus rubens, in which male calling song attracts both conspecific females for mating and parasitoid flies (Ormia ochracea) which kill their hosts within a week. Female crickets are also parasitized by these flies as a result of associating with calling males. In northern Florida crickets that emerge in the spring are not subject to fly parasitism whereas autumn crickets encounter large numbers of flies. We predicted that autumn females should be less attracted to male song than spring females. We tested female response to male calls in a rectangular arena in which male calling song was broadcast from a speaker. Spring females readily approached the speaker but autumn females were less likely to approach and remain in the vicinity of the speaker. These results emphasize the importance of considering how risk affects the evolution of conspicuous male behavior both directly through its effect on the male and indirectly through its effect on female responses to males.     

Fecundity and Longevity of Green Vegetable Bug,Nezara viridula, Following Parasitism byTrichopoda giacomellii

The effects of parasitism by the ArgentinianTrichopoda giacomellii(Blanchard) on reproduction and longevity of its host,Nezara viridula(L.) are reported. Parasitoid larvae suppress egg maturation, reducing by 70% the fecundity of mature female hosts during the period of larval development. Egg viability was not affected, but mating frequency was reduced by approximately 50%. When parasitized as newly eclosed adults, 84% of females fail to reproduce. In male hosts, fertility and mating frequency were not affected during the period of larval parasitoid development. In male and reproductively immature female hosts, death was coincident with, or occurred shortly after parasitoid emergence (2–4 days); in mature females, death occurred on average 2 weeks after larval parasitoid emergence. Host mortality occurred as a consequence of tissue damage incurred as the parasitoid larvae emerged from the host. Some individuals survived parasitism though no further reproductive activity (mating or oviposition) occurred. The effectiveness ofT. giacomelliias a biological control agent is discussed in relation to its impact on reproduction and survival of its host and contrasted with the action of otherTrichopodaspecies.     

Physiological costs and carry-over effects of avian interspecific brood parasitism influence reproductive tradeoffs

Although models of co-evolution between brood parasites and their hosts primarily focus upon the cost to hosts in the current reproductive bout, the impact of brood parasitism may carry over to future reproductive attempts by altering resource allocation. Glucocorticoid stress hormones help mediate resource allocation to reproduction, yet they have rarely been examined in brood parasitic systems. Here we determined if shifts in parental care and corticosterone had carry-over effects on future reproductive effort in the rufous-and-white wren (Thryophilus rufalbus), a host of the Central American striped cuckoo (Tapera naevia). We found that parasitized parents had significantly higher stress-induced, but not baseline, corticosterone than natural parents during the fledgling stage, which was associated with changes in parental care. The high investment in current reproduction while parasitized may be due to the value of fledged chicks in tropical systems. This maladaptive response by parasitized parents was associated with delayed re-nesting and a reduced likelihood of nesting in the subsequent breeding season. Although a reduction in future reproductive effort can result from a combination of factors, this work suggests that fitness costs of brood parasitism are mediated by changes in corticosterone and parental care behavior that carry over into subsequent breeding seasons.     

Reproductive costs of mating with a sibling male: sperm depletion and multiple mating in Cephalonomia hyalinipennis

Polygynous parasitoid males may be limited by the amount of sperm they can transmit to females, which in turn may become sperm limited. In this study, I tested the effect of male mating history on copula duration, female fecundity, and offspring sex ratio, and the likelihood that females will have multiple mates, in the gregarious parasitoid Cephalonomia hyalinipennis Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae: Epyrinae), a likely candidate for sperm depletion due to its local mate competition system. Males were eager to mate with the seven females presented in rapid succession. Copula duration did not differ with male mating history, but latency before a first mating was significantly longer than before consecutive matings. Male mating history had no bearing on female fecundity (number of offspring), but significantly influenced offspring sex ratio. The last female to mate with a given male produced significantly more male offspring than the first one, and eventually became sperm depleted. In contrast, the offspring sex ratio of first‐mated females was female biased, denoting a high degree of sex allocation control. Once‐mated females, whether sperm‐depleted or not, accepted a second mating after a period of oviposition. Sperm‐depleted females resumed production of fertilized eggs after a second mating. Young, recently mated females also accepted a second mating, but extended in‐copula courtship was observed. Carrying out multiple matings in this species thus seems to reduce the cost of being constrained to produce only haploid males after accepting copulation with a sperm‐depleted male. I discuss the reproductive fitness costs that females experience when mating solely with their sibling males and the reproductive fitness gain of males that persist in mating, even when almost sperm‐depleted. Behavioural observations support the hypothesis that females monitor their sperm stock. It is concluded that C. hyalinipennis is a species with a partial local mating system.     

寄主龄期、过寄生和寄主饥饿处理对菜蛾盘绒茧蜂幼蜂及畸形细胞发育的影响

过寄生、寄生时寄主龄期和寄生后寄主饥饿处理影响菜蛾盘绒茧蜂Cotesia plutellae（Kurdj.）幼蜂及畸形细胞的发育。显微解剖和观察表明,4龄小菜蛾Plutella xylostella L.幼虫被寄生后,其体内菜蛾盘绒茧蜂幼蜂发育不整齐、假寄生比例增高。过寄生后,每头被寄生的寄主血腔中畸形细胞数量明显增多,但直径变小;随着过寄生程度的加剧,幼蜂发育严重受阻。寄主营养显著影响体内幼蜂及畸形细胞的发育,被寄生的小菜蛾经饥饿处理62 h后,体内畸形细胞的数量、活性明显降低,与此同时,幼蜂的发育也受到明显抑制,寄主发育与寄生蜂和畸形细胞的发育呈正相关性。由此可见,寄主不同龄期、过寄生及寄主营养状况均对寄主体内幼蜂和畸形细胞发育产生影响。     

Host nutritional status mediates degree of parasitoid virulence

Parasitic organisms rely on the resources of their hosts to obtain nutrients essential for growth and reproduction. Insect parasitoids constitute an extreme condition since they develop in a single host from which they typically consume all available resources. As a result, the host is killed following parasitism. However, a few intriguing cases of host survival have been reported wherein hosts resume foraging and may even reproduce following parasitoid emergence. Yet, the ultimate and proximate mechanisms responsible for host recovery remain unresolved. We tested the impact of host nutrition on host fate and parasitoid fitness, using the association between Dinocampus coccinellae and the spotted lady beetle Coleomegilla maculata. Under laboratory conditions, we fed parasitized ladybirds on different aphid diets, with or without pollen. In the field, we followed the fate of parasitized ladybirds during seasonal variations in pollen and aphid abundance. We found that ladybirds fed on aphids or a combination of aphids and pollen recovered more frequently from parasitism (from 65 to 81%) than those eating only pollen (48%). Field data suggest that the fate of parasitized ladybirds is also related to food availability. On the other hand, when hosts fed on a combination of aphids and pollen, consequences for parasitoid fitness were often ‘all‐or‐nothing’: parasitoid emergence rate was the lowest of all host nutrition regimes (～50%), but parasitoids that did emerge were larger than individuals emerging from other host nutrition regimes. Laboratory and field results concur to show that host nutritional status during parasitoid development significantly influences both host fate and parasitoid fitness.     

Learning provides mating opportunities for males of a parasitoid wasp

The ability of insects to learn locations of future resources has rarely been studied. Here, we show that males of the solitary parasitoid wasp Pimpla disparis Viereck (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) learn locations of future mates. Male P. disparis reportedly arrest on parasitized pupae of wax moth, Galleria mellonella L. (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), and gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar L. (Lepidoptera: Erebidae), when mate emergence is imminent. We tested the hypothesis that male P. disparis identify, memorize, and revisit the location(s) of parasitized host pupae as a strategy to attain mates. We colour‐coded P. disparis males in the field and noticed that they revisit parasitized moth pupae on consecutive days, and arrest on those pupae with a near‐emergence P. disparis parasitoid. In a laboratory experiment with two large corrugated cardboard cylinders (CCCs) as surrogate trees, each CCC bearing two parasitized moth pupae with a near‐emergence P. disparis parasitoid or two pupae not parasitized, males on day 1 of the experiment visited parasitized pupae more often than pupae not parasitized. On day 2, when each CCC had been replaced and now carried pupae that were not parasitized, males returned to the same CCC, or the same micro‐location on that CCC, which on day 1 had carried parasitized pupae. Field and laboratory data combined indicate that male P. disparis learn the location of future mates. With female P. disparis being haplodiploid and capable of reproducing without mating experience, the onus to find a mate is on males. They accomplish this by detecting parasitized pupae, learning their location, revisiting them frequently, and then arresting on them when the prospective mate nears emergence, taking a 50% chance that it is indeed a female.     

Larval parasitism of the autumnal moth reduces feeding intensity on the mountain birch

Plants respond to grazing by herbivorous insects by emitting a range of volatile organic compounds, which attract parasitoids to their insect hosts. However, a positive outcome for the host plant is a necessary precondition for making the attraction beneficial or even adaptive. Parasitoids benefit plants by killing herbivorous insects, thus reducing future herbivore pressure, but also by curtailing the feeding intensity of the still living, parasitised host. In this study, the effect of parasitism on food consumption of the 5th instar larvae of the autumnal moth (Epirrita autumnata) was examined under laboratory conditions. Daily food consumption, as well as the duration of the 5th instar, was measured for both parasitised and non-parasitised larvae. The results showed that parasitism by the solitary endoparasitoid Zele deceptor not only reduced leaf consumption significantly but also hastened the onset of pupation in autumnal moth larvae. On the basis of the results, an empirical model was derived to assess the affects on the scale of the whole tree. The model suggests that parasitoids might protect the tree from total defoliation at least at intermediate larval densities. Consequently, a potential for plant–parasitoid chemical signalling appears to exist, which seems to benefit the mountain birch (Betula pubescens ssp. czerepanovii) by reducing the overall intensity of herbivore defoliation due to parasitism by this hymenopteran parasitoid.     

Conflicts between a fungal entomopathogen, Zoophthora radicans, and two larval parasitoids of the diamondback moth

Zoophthora radicans (Zygomycetes: Entomophthorales), Diadegma semiclausum (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae), and Cotesia plutellae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) are all natural enemies of the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Yponomeutidae). Adult C. plutellae are not susceptible to Z. radicans infection but the pathogen can infect and kill adult D. semiclausum. Infection of adult D. semiclausum prior to exposure to P. xylostella host larvae significantly reduced the number of parasitoid cocoons subsequently developing from the host larvae. Although Z. radicans infection of P. xylostella larvae prior to parasitism by D. semiclausum or C. plutellae always resulted in the death of the immature parasitoids, neither species discriminated between healthy and Z. radicans-infected host larvae in an oviposition choice experiment. However, host larvae recently killed by Z. radicans were always rejected by D. semiclausum but sometimes accepted by C. plutellae. At 20 degrees C, egg to pupa development took 6.7 and 7.8 days for D. semiclausum and C. plutellae, respectively. C. plutellae parasitism significantly increased host instar duration but D. semiclausum parasitism did not. Cadavers of P. xylostella larvae parasitized 1 day prior to fungal infection showed no reduction in Z. radicans conidia yield. However, cadavers of larvae parasitized 3 days prior to fungal infection demonstrated a marked decrease in Z. radicans conidia yield. Z. radicans infection of P. xylostella larvae < or = 4 days after parasitism resulted in 100% parasitoid mortality; thereafter, the reduction in parasitoid cocoon yield decreased as the time between parasitism and initiation of fungal infection increased. The extended duration of the host larval stage induced by C. plutellae parasitism increased the availability of the parasitoid to the pathogen. Estimates of interspecific competition indicated a similar pattern for the interaction between Z. radicans and each species of parasitoid.     

The effects of host weight at parasitism on fitness correlates of the gregarious koinobiont parasitoid Microplitis tristis and consequences for food consumption by its host, Hadena bicruris

Gregarious koinobiont parasitoids attacking a range of host sizes have evolved several mechanisms to adapt to variable host resources, including the regulation of host growth, flexibility in larval development rate, and adjustment of clutch size. We investigated whether the first two mechanisms are involved in responses of the specialist gregarious parasitoid Microplitis tristis Nees (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) to differences in the larval weight and parasitoid load of its host Hadena bicruris Hufn. (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). In addition, we examined the effects of parasitism on food consumption by the host. Parasitoids were offered caterpillars of different weight from all five instars, and parasitoid fitness correlates, including survival, development time, and cocoon weight, were recorded. Furthermore, several host growth parameters and food consumption of parasitized and unparasitized hosts were measured. Our results show that M. tristis responds to different host weights by regulating host growth and by adjusting larval development rate. In hosts with small weights, development time was increased, but the increase was insufficient to prevent a reduction in cocoon weight, and as a result parasitoids experienced a lower chance of successful eclosion. Cocoon weight was negatively affected by parasitoid load, even though host growth was positively affected by parasitoid load, especially in hosts with small weights. Later instars were more optimal for growth and development of M. tristis than early instars, which might reflect an adaptation to the life‐history of the host, whose early instars are usually concealed and inaccessible for parasitism on its food plant, Silene latifolia Krause (Caryophyllaceae). Parasitism by M. tristis greatly reduced total host food consumption for all instar stages. Whether plants can benefit directly from the attraction of gregarious koinobiont parasitoids of their herbivores is a subject of current debate. Our results indicate that, in this system, the attraction of a gregarious koinobiont parasitoid can directly benefit the plant by reducing the number of seeds destroyed by the herbivore.     

Host preferences in a phonotactic parasitoid of field crickets: the relative importance of host song characters

Abstract.  1. Predators, including insect parasitoids, often eavesdrop on prey signals, and as a result, predation can have important effects on the evolution of prey signalling behaviour.
2. The phonotactic parasitoid fly, Ormia ochracea , uses the calling songs of male field crickets to locate their field crickets hosts. In the western USA, this fly parasitises the variable field cricket, Gryllus lineaticeps . Previous work with one fly population suggested that female flies, like female field crickets, preferentially orient to male songs with higher chirp rates and longer chirp durations, although a limited range of male song types was used in this previous study. The current study, with a different fly population, used field-based, two-speaker choice tests to examine: (1) the effect of male chirp rate and chirp duration on fly attraction, using a natural range of song types; and (2) the relative importance of these song types in host selection by the flies.
3. Three lines of evidence suggested that chirp rate is more important than chirp duration in host selection. (a) The flies consistently preferred higher chirp rates but only sometimes preferred longer chirp durations. (b) The flies consistently preferred higher chirp rate/shorter chirp duration songs to lower chirp rate/longer chirp duration songs. (c) Preferences for longer chirp durations could be eliminated by increasing the amplitude of the less attractive song type, while preferences for higher chirp rates could only sometimes be eliminated by increasing the amplitude of the less attractive song type.
4. Fly predation may favour lower chirp rates and shorter chirp durations in G. lineaticeps , and may have resulted in stronger selection on chirp rate than on chirp duration.