Foraging behavior of egg parasitoids exploiting chemical information

N.E. Fatouros, M. Dicke, R. Mumm, T. Meiners, M. Hilker

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

233 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Female parasitic wasps seek hosts for their offspring often in a dynamic environment. Foraging egg parasitoids rely on a variety of chemical cues originating from the adult host, host products, or the host plant rather than from the attacked host stage¿the insect egg itself. Besides pupae, insect eggs are the most inconspicuous host stage attacked by parasitic wasps. To overcome the problem of low detectability of host eggs, egg parasitoids have evolved several strategies such as exploiting long-range kairomones of the adult hosts, for example, host aggregation and sex pheromones, plant synomones induced by egg deposition or host feeding, or short-range contact cues derived from the adult host or the host plant. Moreover, egg parasitoids have evolved the ability to use chemical espionage in combination with hitchhiking on the adult host (phoresy) to compensate their limited flight capability and to gain access to freshly laid host eggs. Here, we provide a comprehensive overview on the variety of host-foraging strategies of egg parasitoids exploiting chemical signals. Furthermore, the use of such infochemicals is discussed with respect to the wasps¿ dietary breadth and their ability to learn
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)677-689
JournalBehavioral Ecology
Volume19
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2008

Keywords

  • trichogramma-evanescens hymenoptera
  • telenomus-euproctidis hymenoptera
  • australis fabricius heteroptera
  • podisus-maculiventris hemiptera
  • trissolcus-basalis hymenoptera
  • heliothis-zea lepidoptera
  • european corn-borer
  • pieris-brassicae l
  • footed plant bug

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