Immediate Effects of Parasitization by the Insect Parasite, Hyposoter exiguae on the Nutritional Physiology of Its Host, Trichoplusia ni

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Abstract
After parasitization (24 h) by the solitary insect parasite H. exiguae, the nutritional physiology of its host, T. ni, was examined. Rates of growth, food consumption, assimilation, excretion and respiration were calculated and approximate digestibility and the rate ratios ECI, percent efficiency of conversion of ingested food to body substance, and ECD, percent efficiency of conversion of digested food to body substance. The effects of starvation on the above nutritional parameters in host larvae reared on nutrient-deficient diets were determined. Parasitization resulted in significant decreases in the rates of growth, feeding and excretion, but the rates of assimilation and respiration were elevated. The ECI and ECD were also reduced as a result of parasitization, but digestibility was increased. The effects of starvation were qualitatively, but not quantatively similar to those that resulted from parasitization. The metabolic rate, that is, the rate of intake of nutrients required to compensate for metabolism, was much higher in starved larvae.

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