HYPERPARASITISM IN POPULATIONS OF HYPHANTRIA CUNEA

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Abstract
Four of the parasite species attacking Hyphantria cunea Drury spin their cocoons inside the colonial web of the host, where they are exposed to attack by five species of hyperparasites. Percentage hyperparasitism was measured over a 15-year period in permanent study areas in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The mean percentage was about 50%, with very wide variations from year to year. These variations were not related to the population density of H. cunea or its parasites and no model for hyperparasite-parasite interaction could be constructed.