Parasitoids have long proven to be model organisms in studying resourcerelated constraints on immature development. Here we examine the relationship between host cocoon （= pupal） size in the gregarious endoparasitoi...Parasitoids have long proven to be model organisms in studying resourcerelated constraints on immature development. Here we examine the relationship between host cocoon （= pupal） size in the gregarious endoparasitoid wasp, Cotesia glomerata, and development time and adult size in the solitary idiobiont hyperparasitoid, Pteromalus semotus. Little is known about the biology or ecology of this ecto-hyperparasitoid species, although it is one of the major secondary hyperparasitoids of C. glomerata. The size of the adult wasp covaried with the size of the host cocoon at parasitism. Moreover, female wasps were larger than male wasps for a given cocoon size. Adult wasps have remarkably long life-spans, 3 months on average. Longevity did not significantly differ with sex. We also examined how larvae of P. semotus exclude other potential competitors. P. semotus is protandrous, with females taking significantly longer to complete their development than males. In experiments where several eggs of P. semotus were placed on individual pupae of C. glomerata, newly hatched hyperparasitoid larvae moved rapidly over the surface of the host and destroyed the eggs of any conspecifics by biting them before they would initiate feeding on host tissues. Our results are discussed in relation to those with other studies with solitary ichneumonid idiobiont hyperparasitoids of C. glomerata.展开更多
There are gaps in our understanding of plant responses under different insect phytophagy modes and their subsequent effects on the insect herbivores＇ performance at late season. Here we compared different types of in...There are gaps in our understanding of plant responses under different insect phytophagy modes and their subsequent effects on the insect herbivores＇ performance at late season. Here we compared different types of insect feeding by an aphid, Lipaphis erysimi, and a lepidopteran, Plutella xylostella, and how this affected defensive metabolites in leaves of 2 Brassica species when plants gain maturity. Thiocyanate concentrations after P xylostella and L. erysimi feeding activities were the same. Total phenolics was higher after the phloem feeder feeding than the folivore activity. The plants compensatory responses （i.e., tolerance） to L. erysimi feeding was significantly higher than the responses to P xylostella. This study showed that L. erysirni had higher carbon than P xylostella whereas nitrogen in P xylostella was 1.42 times that in L. erysimi. Population size of the phloem feeder was not affected by plant species or insect coexistence. However, there was no correlation between plant defensive metabolites and both insects＇ population size and biomass. This suggests that plant root biomass and tolerance index after different insect herbivory modes are not necessarily unidirectional. Importantly, the interaction between the folivore and the phloem feeder insects is asymmetric and the phloem feeder might be a trickier problem for plants than the folivore. Moreover, as both plants＇ common and special defenses decreased under interspecific interference, we suggest that specialist insect herbivores can be more challenged in ecosystems in which plants are not involved in interspecific interference.展开更多
文摘Parasitoids have long proven to be model organisms in studying resourcerelated constraints on immature development. Here we examine the relationship between host cocoon （= pupal） size in the gregarious endoparasitoid wasp, Cotesia glomerata, and development time and adult size in the solitary idiobiont hyperparasitoid, Pteromalus semotus. Little is known about the biology or ecology of this ecto-hyperparasitoid species, although it is one of the major secondary hyperparasitoids of C. glomerata. The size of the adult wasp covaried with the size of the host cocoon at parasitism. Moreover, female wasps were larger than male wasps for a given cocoon size. Adult wasps have remarkably long life-spans, 3 months on average. Longevity did not significantly differ with sex. We also examined how larvae of P. semotus exclude other potential competitors. P. semotus is protandrous, with females taking significantly longer to complete their development than males. In experiments where several eggs of P. semotus were placed on individual pupae of C. glomerata, newly hatched hyperparasitoid larvae moved rapidly over the surface of the host and destroyed the eggs of any conspecifics by biting them before they would initiate feeding on host tissues. Our results are discussed in relation to those with other studies with solitary ichneumonid idiobiont hyperparasitoids of C. glomerata.
文摘There are gaps in our understanding of plant responses under different insect phytophagy modes and their subsequent effects on the insect herbivores＇ performance at late season. Here we compared different types of insect feeding by an aphid, Lipaphis erysimi, and a lepidopteran, Plutella xylostella, and how this affected defensive metabolites in leaves of 2 Brassica species when plants gain maturity. Thiocyanate concentrations after P xylostella and L. erysimi feeding activities were the same. Total phenolics was higher after the phloem feeder feeding than the folivore activity. The plants compensatory responses （i.e., tolerance） to L. erysimi feeding was significantly higher than the responses to P xylostella. This study showed that L. erysirni had higher carbon than P xylostella whereas nitrogen in P xylostella was 1.42 times that in L. erysimi. Population size of the phloem feeder was not affected by plant species or insect coexistence. However, there was no correlation between plant defensive metabolites and both insects＇ population size and biomass. This suggests that plant root biomass and tolerance index after different insect herbivory modes are not necessarily unidirectional. Importantly, the interaction between the folivore and the phloem feeder insects is asymmetric and the phloem feeder might be a trickier problem for plants than the folivore. Moreover, as both plants＇ common and special defenses decreased under interspecific interference, we suggest that specialist insect herbivores can be more challenged in ecosystems in which plants are not involved in interspecific interference.
