BACKGROUND The integration of multiple complementary approaches is a powerful way to understand the processes of diversification and speciation. The parasitoid wasp Aphidius transcaspicus Telenga (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) is a parasitoid of Hyalopterus aphids across a wide geographic range. This species shows a remarkable degree of genetic structure among western, central, and eastern Mediterra...

Parasitoids are an important mortality factor for insects. Susceptibility to parasitoids should thus be under strong negative selection. Nevertheless, ample genetic variation for susceptibility to parasitoids is commonly observed in natural populations, suggesting that trade-offs may constrain the evolution of reduced susceptibility. This can be studied by assessing genetic variation for suscep...

Symbiotic relationships between animals and microorganisms are common in nature, yet the factors controlling the abundance and distributions of symbionts are mostly unknown. Aphids have an obligate association with the bacterium Buchnera aphidicola (the primary symbiont) that has been shown to contribute directly to aphid fitness. In addition, aphids sometimes harbor other vertically transmitte...

The functional response of Aphidius ervi to different Sitobion avenae densities on two wheat cultivars (Sardary and Alvand) was examined in laboratory conditions. Experiments were carried out in test tubes on an F2 lab generation without wheat clusters and also on F2 and F5 generations in pots using wheat clusters. In the tubes, female wasps were exposed to aphid densities of 2, 4, 7, 14, 28, 3...