The Foraging Behavior of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lysiphlebus fabarum</Emphasis> (Marshall), a Thelytokous Parasitoid of the Black Bean Aphid in Iran |
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Authors: | Arash Rasekh J P Michaud Hossein Allahyari Qodratollah Sabahi |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Plant Protection, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran;(2) Kansas State University, Agricultural Research Center—Hays, 1232 240th Ave, Hays, KS 67601, USA;(3) Department of Plant Protection, College of Agriculture, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran; |
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Abstract: | A series of laboratory experiments examined the foraging behavior of a thelytokous strain of Lysiphlebus fabarum (Marshall), a strongly proovigenic parasitoid of Aphis fabae Scopoli, in Iran. Females use chemical camoflage to forage undisturbed in ant-tended aphid colonies and solicit honeydew
from aphids in the manner of ants. Rates of oviposition are very low (∼ 1.2 eggs / h) despite many aphid encounters and persistent
ovipositor probing which appears to prime aphids for subsequent honeydew solicitation. Starved females spent 3.6 times longer
in host patches (leaf disks with 15 2nd–3rd instar A. fabae) than did females sated on honey, and 40% of this time was spent soliciting honeydew. Five d-old females spent longer in
patches than did one d-old females, and parasitized three times as many aphids. A 24 h pre-trial foraging experience did not
reduce mean egg load significantly compared to a one h experience, but was sufficient to reduce patch residence time and number
of aphids parasitized. Wasps reared under short day conditions (L:D = 10:14) were more pessimistic foragers (remained longer
in patches and parasitized more aphids) than females raised under long days (L:D = 16:8). Wasps that encountered aphids previously
parasitized by conspecifics began to superparasitize and remained longer in patches than females that encountered only unparasitized
aphids. Encounters with other females had no effect on foraging behavior, possibly because cuticular camoflage interferes
with conspecific recognition. The exceptionally low oviposition rate of this wasp may reflect a life history in which individual
fitness has evolved to be strongly dependent on continued ant attendance throughout the period of progeny development. |
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