Interactions between the ParasitoidAmetadoria misella(Diptera: Tachinidae) and the Granulovirus ofHarrisina brillians(Lepidoptera: Zygaenidae)

Interactions between a granulovirus (HbGV), a tachinid parasitoidAmetadoria misella,and their host, the western grapeleaf skeletonizerHarrisina brillians,were investigated. In field populations, the occurrence ofA. misellain HbGV-infectedH. brillianspupae was less frequent than would have been expected by random assortment of the virus and the parasitoid. Furthermore, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay detected granulovirus less frequently and in lower concentrations in parasitized pupae than in nonparasitized pupae. Finally, in the host pupae that tested positive for virus, parasitoids were more likely to survive pupation than hosts. When laboratory-rearedH. brillianslarvae were exposed to naturally occurringA. misellain a field experiment, the parasitoid oviposited more often in older than in younger host larvae and more often in healthy than in HbGV-infected host larvae. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that selective oviposition byA. misellaleads to reduced overlap of the parasitoid and HbGV in hosts, resulting in greater parasitoid survival.