Effects of superparasitism on immature and adult stages ofDiachasmimorpha longicaudataAshmead (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) reared onCeratitis capitata Wiedemann (Diptera: Tephritidae)

F DEVESCOVI; BACHMANN; NUSSENBAUM AL; MARIANA M. VISCARRET; CLADERA, J; DF SEGURA

BULLETIN OF ENTOMOLOGICAL RESEARCH

CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS

Lugar: Cambridge; Año: 2017

0007-4853

The optimal use of available host by parasitoid insects should be favoured by natural selection. For solitary parasitoids, superparasitism (i.e. the egg-laying of severaleggs/host) may represent a detrimental phenomenon both in a biological and anapplied sense, but under certain circumstances it may be adaptive. Here, we studiedthe effects of increasing levels of superparasitism (LSPs, number of parasitoidlarvae/host) on fitness-related parameters of the immature and adult stages ofDiachasmimorpha longicaudata, a solitary endoparasitoid parasitizingCeratitis capitata.We investigated the moment when supernumerary parasitoid larvae are eliminatedand the effects produced by this process, together with its repercussion on female fecundity, parasitism rate, sex ratio, adult survival, flight ability and body size.Complete elimination of competitors occurred soon after larval hatching, beforereaching the second larval stage. Elimination process took longer at higher LSPs, although a normal developmental (egg?adult) time was achieved. For LSPs 1, 2, 3 and 5the effects on parasitoid emergence were mild, but LSP 10 led to the death of all developing parasitoids. Aside from this, to develop in superparasitized hosts did notsignificantly affect any of the evaluated parameters, and only a female-biased sexratio was observed at higher LSPs. However, the effects of superparasitism on theadults may have a different outcome under more variable conditions in the field,once they are released for biological control purposes