Journal of Insect Behavior (2011) 24, 447-455
Xiong Z. He, Qiao Wang and David A.J. Teulon (2011)
Host age preference behavior in Aphidius ervi Haliday (Hymenoptera: Aphidiidae)
Journal of Insect Behavior 24 (6), 447-455
Abstract: Many parasitoid species have preference for certain stages of hosts to parasitize but the underlying behavioral mechanisms of such preference are still poorly understood, making it difficult to evaluate host-parasitoid interactions and their effects on the success of biological control programs. Here, we report our work on a parasitoid Aphidius ervi Haliday on the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris). We show that with the increase of host age, female parasitoids are more likely to encounter and to attack their hosts but the hosts develop increasingly greater defensive capabilities. Encounter almost always triggers attack attempt; however, increasing attack attempts do not proportionally lead to ovipositor probings and increasing ovipositor probings do not proportionally translate into ovipositions. These asymmetric responses may be interpreted as that A. ervi females prefer to parasitize older aphids for higher fitness return but those aphids can better defend themselves, and as a consequence, A. ervi females may achieve the highest gain by attacking aphids of intermediate ages. We suggest that A. ervi females forage in a manner consistent with the optimal foraging theory, trading off host handling time with fitness returns.
(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): Qiao Wang, David A.J. Teulon
Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
general biology - morphology - evolution
resistance/tolerance/defence of host
Pest and/or beneficial records:
| Beneficial | Pest/Disease/Weed | Crop/Product | Country | Quarant.
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acyrthosiphon pisum | ||||
| Aphidius ervi (parasitoid) | Acyrthosiphon pisum |
