Effect of conspecifics on patch exploitation behaviour of Megarhyssa nortoni, a parasitoid a forest pest

FISCHBEIN DEBORAH; MELISA SUANS; CORLEY JUAN

Congreso; 2020 ABS Virtual Conference; 2020

Parasitoids can use information from different sources of the environment during host foraging. Here, we evaluated, under laboratory conditions, the effect of patch quality and the presence/absence of conspecifics females on patch exploitation behaviour of Megarhyssa nortoni (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae), a parasitoid of the invasive woodwasp pest Sirex noctilio (Hymenoptera: Siricidae). The results showed that females oviposited only on healthy patches and the presence of a conspecific female did not modify the number and duration of ovipositions of the focal female. Females that foraged simultaneously on the same patch interacted much more off the patch than on it, and the number of ovipositions of two females (conspecific and focal) was similar. Our results suggest that the presence of conspecifics females during host foraging does not affect the patch exploitation strategies of Megarhyssa nortoni females.