Developmental and behavioural responses of larval Trichoplusia ni to parasitization by an imported braconid parasite Chelonus sp

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Abstract
Larval Trichoplusia ni (Hübner) (Noctuidae) parasitized by Chelonus sp. (near curvimaculatus) (Braconidae) precociously initiated pupation during the penultimate fourth instar. The temporal sequence of developmental markers exhibited by parasitized T. ni closely matched the temporal sequence in normal, pupating larvae. The parasitized larvae did not complete pupation, but consistently stopped development at a stage recognizable by a certain set of markers. This halt was observed in hosts from which parasites emerged and from hosts which had been stung but from which no parasites emerged. Weight gain and food consumption by parasitized hosts were significantly lower than normal, although most reached the fourth instar at the same time as normal larvae. Measurement of head capsule widths indicated that the width in precociously pupating larvae was less than the critical width associated with attainment of the pupation instar of normal larvae.