Title: Reproductive Strategy of Trissolcus euschisti (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) under Conditions of Partially Used Host Resources
Abstract: Trissolcus euschisti (Ashmead), a scelionid parasitoid of stink bug eggs, did not alter its sex ratio in response to chemical traces left by previously ovipositing wasps as had been predicted by published local mate competition models. Female T. euschisti generally oviposited male offspring early in an ovipositional sequence. Consequently, stink bug egg masses that have been parasitized by more than one female should produce a higher male/total wasp sex ratio than those parasitized by single females as suggested by Waage (1982) for certain other scelionid parasitoids. Thus, the apparently adaptive outcome of higher sex ratios when more than one foundress oviposits in a patch may be the same as that predicted by local mate competition theory but does not involve local mate competition because of a relatively fixed pattern of sex allocation. Female T. euschisti rejected heavily parasitized egg masses more frequently than they rejected host egg masses of a similar size that were only lightly parasitized.
Publication Year: 1989
Publication Date: 1989-03-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
Access and Citation
Cited By Count: 9
AI Researcher Chatbot
Get quick answers to your questions about the article from our AI researcher chatbot