Optimal Host Selection by Drosophila Parasitoids in the Field

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The host selection behaviour of two larval endoparasitoids of Drosophila was studied under field conditions. An optimal host selection model was used to analyze this behaviour. Encounter rates with hosts were consistently low. Therefore the model predicted the acceptance of most host species. This was in agreement with field observations. The acceptance of parasitized hosts was also predicted by the model, suggesting that superparasitism is an adaptive strategy under field conditions. The occurrence of superparasitism was confirmed by the number of parasitoid eggs and larvae found in host larvae collected in the field. The numbers of offspring produced by female parasitoids that behave optimally according to the model is only slightly larger than that of females adopting alternative host selection strategies, suggesting that selection for the optimal strategy is weak. It is therefore expected that a mixture of foraging strategies will occur within a population of parasitoids.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: