Ecological Entomology (2005) 30, 502-509
Joan van Baaren, Guy Boivin and Yannick Outreman (2005)
Patch exploitation strategy by an egg parasitoid in constant or variable environment
Ecological Entomology 30 (5), 502-509
Abstract: 1. In this paper, the foraging behaviour (the proximal mechanisms involved in patch-leaving rules and the egg dispersion) of an egg parasitoid, Anaphes victus, was analysed in environments containing either patches of constant quality (i.e. predictable environment) or patches of variable quality (i.e. unpredictable environment) in order to determine the motivational mechanisms used in patch-leaving strategies.
2. Comparison of the patch exploitation strategy of A. victus between the different habitats suggested that the response of A. victus to a given patch quality strongly depended on its past experiences. Females allocated more time and more eggs in a mixed quality patch after experiencing a poor quality patch than after experiencing a good quality patch. In a poor quality patch, females superparasitised more frequently after experiencing a poor quality patch than after experiencing a good quality patch. In a good quality patch, A. victus females laid more eggs after having visited two poor quality patches than after visiting good quality patches.
3. Recent foraging experiences are used to estimate both the availability and spatial distribution of hosts in the environment and adjust foraging decisions accordingly. The observed variability in the patch-leaving rules within the same species stresses the importance of previous experience when describing behaviours of female parasitoids.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Joan van Baaren, Yannick Outreman, Guy Boivin
Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
general biology - morphology - evolution
environment/habitat manipulation
Pest and/or beneficial records:
| Beneficial | Pest/Disease/Weed | Crop/Product | Country | Quarant.
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anaphes victus (parasitoid) |
