Search results for "Wasps"

Behavioral and Chemical Investigations of Contact Kairomones Released by the Mud Dauber Wasp Trypoxylon politum, a Host of the Parasitoid Melittobia …

2011

Contact kairomones from the host mud dauber wasp Trypoxylon politum Say (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae) that mediate behavioral responses of its ectoparasitoid Melittobia digitata Dahms (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) were investigated. Chemical residues from host by-products, the cocoon, and the meconium, induced arrestment behavior of macropterous female parasitoids, while those from the host stage attacked, i.e., the prepupa, did not. Melittobia digitata response to polar and apolar extracts of host by-products indicated kairomone(s) solubility mainly in hexane. GC and GC/MS analysis of cocoon and meconium apolar extracts revealed a mixture of linear carboxylic acids from C(6) to C(18), and both ex…

Learning can be detrimental for a parasitic wasp

2021

Animals have evolved the capacity to learn, and the conventional view is that learning allows individuals to improve foraging decisions. The parasitoid Telenomus podisi has been shown to parasitize eggs of the exotic stink bug Halyomorpha halys at the same rate as eggs of its coevolved host, Podisus maculiventris, but the parasitoid cannot complete its development in the exotic species. We hypothesized that T. podisi learns to exploit cues from this non-coevolved species, thereby increasing unsuccessful parasitism rates. We conducted bioassays to compare the responses of naïve vs. experienced parasitoids on chemical footprints left by one of the two host species. Both naïve and experienced …

CYNIPIDAE, CURCULIONOIDEA E CECIDOMYIIDAE GALLIGENI IN SICILIA: STATO DELLE CONOSCENZE E NUOVI DATI

First Record of Leptocybe invasa and Ophelimus maskelli Eucalyptus Gall Wasps in Tunisia

2010

Two Australian gall wasps were detected for the first time in Tunisia on the foliage of Eucalyptus camaldulensis trees. Leptocybe invasa was detected in 2004, while Ophelimus maskelli in 2006. L. invasa makes galls on petioles, leaf midribs and young branches whereas O. maskelli induces galls on limbs. Vigilance is recommended when seedlings are carried to plantation.

Olive Seed Wasp in Cultivated Olives. Possible threat.

2020

The possible threat to cultivated olives due to some Chalcidoidea seed wasps are here highlighted, showing symptoms, identification and seasonal occurrence

Scelionidae (Hymenoptera: Platygastroidea) recorded in Italy and their known hosts.

2020

Scelionidi (Hymenoptera: Platygastroidea) segnalati per l’Italia e loro ospiti noti. Il seguente lavoro propone una revisione della checklist italiana della famiglia Scelionidae dopo quella proposta da Bin et al. (1995). Viene inoltre fornito l’elenco delle specie di ospiti di Insecta e Arachnida individuate nel lavoro di raccolta bibliografica. In totale sono riportati 38 generi di scelionidi per l’Italia con 181 specie di cui 58 riportano anche gli ospiti appartenenti agli ordini: Insecta: Mantodea, Orthoptera, Embioptera, Hemiptera, Coleoptera, Neuroptera, Diptera, Lepidoptera; Arachnida: Araneae Dysderiidae, Lycosidae. Grazie all'intenso lavoro di ricerca del professor Giovanni Mineo, r…

Supplementary material 1 from: Komonen A (2023) Nest characteristics and associates of Dolichovespula (Hymenoptera, Vespidae) in Central Finland. Jou…

2023

Nest characteristics

Nest characteristics and associates of Dolichovespula (Hymenoptera, Vespidae) in Central Finland

2023

In social vespine wasps, the nest characteristics and associates vary intra- and interspecifically. I studied the nest characteristics and nest associates of three Dolichovespula wasp species in boreal Finland. The average number of combs and cells per nest was similar among D. media, D. saxonica and D. norwegica, and similar to Dolichovespula in the temperate zone. Most D. media and D. saxonica colonies produced both gynes and males, whereas D. norwegica produced mainly either one. The average colony lifespan of D. saxonica was a bit over two months, i.e. shorter than documented for Dolichovespula in the temperate zone. The proportion of nests parasitised by the ichneumonid wasp Sphecophag…

Low parasitism rates in parthenogenetic bagworm moths do not support the parasitoid hypothesis for sex

2012

The parasite hypothesis for sex is one of the many theories that have been suggested to solve the mystery of the widespread occurrence of sex despite its high short-term costs. It suggests that sexual lineages have an evolutionary advantage over parthenogens because they can frequently generate new genotypes that are temporarily less prone to coevolving parasites. In this study, we looked for further supporting evidence for the parasite hypothesis of sex in an attempt to understand the coexistence of sexual and parthenogenetic bagworm moths (Naryciinae). The bagworm moths and their parasitoids form one of the few natural host-parasite systems where sexual and parthenogenetic hosts are appar…

Host chemical footprints induce host sex discrimination ability in egg parasitoids

2013

Trissolcus egg parasitoids, when perceiving the chemical footprints left on a substrate by pentatomid host bugs, adopt a motivated searching behaviour characterized by longer searching time on patches were signals are present. Once in contact with host chemical footprints, Trissolcus wasps search longer on traces left by associated hosts rather than non-associated species, and, in the former case, they search longer on traces left by females than males. Based on these evidences, we hypothesized that only associated hosts induce the ability to discriminate host sex in wasps. To test this hypothesis we investigated the ability of Trissolcus basalis, T. brochymenae, and Trissolcus sp. to disti…