Functional response and mutual interference are the most important behavioural characteristics that reveal different aspects of host–parasitoid interactions. In this study, functional response and mutual interference of the parasitoid wasp, Diaeretiella rapae (M’Intosh) attacking the cabbage aphid, Brevicoryne brassicae (Linnaeus) were investigated. Logistic regression was used to distinguish t...

Palmistichus elaeisis Delvare and LaSalle (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) is a gregarious and polyphagous parasitoid mainly of Lepidoptera pupae. The objective of this paper as to study the developent of parasitoid on Bombyx mori L. (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae) pupae exposed to one, nine, 18, 27, 36, 45 or 54 female P. elaeisis, respectively. The females of the parasitoid remained in contact with pupae ...

A field study was conducted in forested plots near Lansing, Michigan in 2008 and 2009 to evaluate the newly introduced egg parasitoid Oobius agrili Zhang and Huang (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) for control of the invasive emerald ash borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae). To measure parasitism by O. agrili, laboratory-reared ‘‘sentinel EAB eggs’’ were deployed under b...

Anagyrus amnestos sp. n. (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), a promising parasitoid of the invasive Madeira mealybug, Phenacoccus madeirensis Green (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), is described based on material collected from India. This parasitoid was identified as Anagyrus sp. nov. nr. sinope Noyes & Menezes in recent literature, and was initially collected in Georgia, USA. It was found to be a specific ...

Chelonus inanitus (Braconidae) is a solitary egg-larval parasitoid of Spodoptera littoralis (Noctuidae). Along with the egg it also injects polydnaviruses (CiV) and venom, which are prerequisites for successful parasitoid development. CiV protects the parasitoid from encapsulation by the host's immune system and induces a developmental arrest in the prepupal stage. The polydnavirus genome consi...

Natural enemies are important ecological and evolutionary forces, and heritable variation in resistance to enemies is a prerequisite for adaptive responses of populations. Such variation in resistance has been previously documented for pea aphids (Acyrthosiphon pisum) attacked by the parasitoid wasp Aphidius ervi. Although the variation was presumed to reflect genotypic differences among the ap...