Chalcidoid wasps represent one of the most speciose superfamilies of animals known, with ca. 23,000 species described of which many are parasitoids. They are extremely diverse in body size, morphology and, among the parasitoids, insect hosts. Parasitic chalcidoids utilise a range of behavioural adaptations to facilitate exploitation of their diverse insect hosts, but how host use might influenc...

New host wasps attacked by Mirothrips arbiter (Thysanoptera: Phlaeothripidae) are recorded and their possible feeding on fungi mites in colonies of Polistes melanosoma ferreri is evaluated. No predation events or fungal ingestion were observed, indicating that these thrips only use wasp eggs as food. Thrips do not parasitize wasps’ bodies, they live at the expense colonies, where find food shel...

Symbiosis is a common phenomenon in which associated organisms can cooperate in ways that increase their ability to survive, reproduce, or utilize hostile environments. Here, we discuss polydnavirus symbionts of parasitic wasps. These viruses are novel in two ways: (1) they have become non-autonomous domesticated entities that cannot replicate outside of wasps; and (2) they function as a delive...

The insects Vespa orientalis L. and Vespula germanica (F.) are social wasps (Hymenoptera Vespinae) that can cause intense damages in apiaries, places where they can find the best combination of proteins from animal origin (bees and larvae) and carbohydrates (nectar and honey). The purpose of the present study was to compare three improvised types of traps (wood-glue, plastic bottle, double cham...

The efficacies of larval defenses against invertebrate predators representing different (but overlapping) foraging guilds were compared by offering 34 species (287 individuals) of lepidopteran larvae to Paraponera clavata ants, Apiomerus pictipes bugs, and Polistes instabilis wasps. Overall, the ants were the most likely to eat caterpillar prey, and the wasps were the most cautious. Larval chem...

Background: Endoparasitoid wasps inject venom proteins at oviposition to alter host immunity. Results: The venom of Leptopilina boulardi but not of a related species contains an active extracellular SOD. Recombinant SODs inhibit the Drosophila host phenoloxidase activity. Conclusion: An extracellular SOD is secreted and active in an insect fluid. Significance: SODs may be used as immune suppres...

Chemical residues left by walking adults of the southern green stink bug, Nezara viridula (L.) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) induce arrestment behavior in the egg parasitoid Trissolcus basalis (Wollaston) (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) leading to prolonged periods of walking on contaminated areas and to systematic return to the stimulus after encountering the treatment borders. In this study, we quan...

Bee males (drones) of stingless bees tend to congregate near entrances of conspecific nests, where they wait for virgin queens that initiate their nuptial flight. We observed that the Neotropical solitary wasp Trachypus boharti (Hymenoptera, Cabronidae) specifically preys on males of the stingless bee Scaptotrigona postica (Hymenoptera, Apidae); these wasps captured up to 50 males per day near ...

Flowering phenology is central to the ecology and evolution of most flowering plants. In highly-specific nursery pollination systems, such as that involving fig trees (Ficus species) and fig wasps (Agaonidae), any mismatch in timing has serious consequences because the plants must balance seed production with maintenance of their pollinator populations. Most fig trees are found in tropical or s...