Experimental studies on parasitization by Apanteles glomeratus.

ABSTRACT. The host-finding sequence of Apanteles glomeratus females and the factors involved in it were analysed. A female wasp is attracted by the leaf odour of the food plant of the host ( Pieris rapae crucivord ). She then walks slowly with the tips of her antennae rubbing the leaf surface. When she comes across damage produced by the host's feeding, her antennae are raised and she turns towards the damage. She often then erects her wings and/or bends her abdomen forward in response to a chemical produced from the leaf by the host's saliva. Long-lasting searching elicited by this odour normally leads to an encounter with a host caterpillar, whereupon odour from the host itself releases opposition. Host saliva, faeces and silk are also involved in these responses, but the response to fresh leaf damage has the most specific function in the overall strategy of host-finding.