In a study of the quality of Trichogramma pretiosum Riley (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammidae), we compared female wasps emerging from natural hosts, parasitized in the laboratory or the field with those emerging from factitious hosts used for commercial mass production. Females from the natural hosts were larger, more fecund, and longer lived than those from the factitious hosts. Compared to small females, large female wasps are substantially more fecund when honey (carbohydrate) is available but marginally more fecund when honey is unavailable. The size of a female T. pretiosum depends on two factors: the size of the host egg from which it emerges even when the wasp was gregarious, and the number of conspecifics that emerge with it. The similarities in the size distribution of female wasps emerging from natural hosts, in conjunction with the mechanism by which Trichogramma measure host size and allocate eggs accordingly, suggests the hypothesis that size related components of fitness in female T. pretiosum are under strong selection in the field.

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Abstract. We tested the hypothesis that females of the egg parasitoid, Trichogramma minutum Riley (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae), could adjust their fecundity schedule according to host availability and that there was a negative correlation between reproduction and survival in these wasps. Newly‐emerged females were provided with an unlimited or limited number of hosts in the first trial and with either unlimited, limited or zero hosts in the second trial. When hosts were unlimited, wasps had the highest rate of reproduction in the first day, which decreased dramatically thereafter. When hosts were limited, wasps from the two trials differed in their response. In Trial I, females with limited hosts had lower first‐day fecundity than, and the same subsequent‐day fecundity as, those with unlimited hosts. However, in Trial II, females with limited host had a lower first‐day but a higher subsequent‐day fecundity than those with unlimited hosts. This indicates variation in Trichogramma's ability to shift its fecundity schedule in response to host availability. There was a positive (rather than a negative) correlation between reproduction and survival. Wasps that oviposited (in host‐unlimited treatment) had greater longevity than those that could not (in host‐unavailable treatment). The sex ratio of the progeny produced by wasps in both host‐unlimited and limited treatments shifted gradually from a female to a male bias as the wasps aged. We consider the ability of parasitoids to adjust their fecundity schedule as an adaptation to changing host resources and discuss our findings with regard to theories of life history evolution.

1. The patterns of host-feeding and oviposition were examined in Aphelinus asychis Walker, which had been provided with second-instar pea aphids as hosts.2. Female wasps responded to increasing host density (between one and forty aphids for 24 h) with an increasing tendency to oviposit rather than to feed. Superparasitism occurred at all aphid densities, even when unparasitized aphids were available.3. Aphids intended for feeding were paralysed and died. Wasps did not feed on and oviposit in the same aphid.4. Feeding to satiation lasted between 4 min and 42 min. Females that had starved for s18 h generally deposited one or more eggs before feeding again, while the reverse was true in wasps that had starved for 2 2 1 h. 5 . The host-feeding behaviour of A.asychis is determined by a female's nutritional status. At low rates of host encounter, the anhydropic eggs may be resorbed. This reproductive strategy conforms to the destructive nonconcurrent type among the Hymenoptera.

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Abstract. We test the hypothesis that a solitary parasitoid wasp may gain in fitness if she lays more eggs in a host. Using heterospecific superparasitism (=multiparasitism) between the solitary aphid parasitoids, Aphidius smithi Sharma & Subba Rao and Ephedrus californicus Baker, we show that (i) a superparasitizing female's chance that her offspring will survive competition is an increasing function of egg density, and (ii) survival among same‐aged larvae is independent of the oviposition sequence. These findings on asymmetric larval competition provide indirect evidence that supports two fundamental, but untested, assumptions underlying models of adaptive superparasitism between conspecific wasps.

In a laboratory study, we determined the potential of three Trichogramma (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) species, T. brassicae Bezdenko, T. minutum Riley and T. nr. sibiricum Sorokina, for biological control against six species of forest lepidopteran pests, black army cutworm, hemlock looper, eastern spruce budworm, western spruce budworm, white‐marked tussock moth, and gypsy moth. Females of each parasitoid species were offered eggs from each of the six host species. Parasitization and the effect of the host species on the emerging progeny were examined and recorded. Trichogramma minutum had the broadest host range and successfully parasitized four host species out of the six offered. Trichogramma nr. sibiricum had the narrowest host range and parasitized only two species of hosts. Of the six host species, black army cutworm was the most preferred by all three Trichogramma species; white‐marked tussock moth and gypsy moth were not parasitized by any parasitoids. There was a positive correlation between the size of female offspring and their corresponding egg complement in all three parasitoid species. The developmental time of parasitoids from egg to adult was influenced by both the parasitoid and host species. Our results suggest that T. minutum has the greatest potential for biological control against various forest lepidopteran pests and that the black army cutworm may be the best target candidate for further study.

Females of the solitary parasitoid Aphelinus asychis Walker discriminated between unparasitized and parasitized second-instar nymphs of the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris). Wasps normally avoided superparasitism, except when they were confined with few hosts for a long time. Parasitoid females did not need previous experience with unparasitized aphids (learning) in order to discriminate. They probed with the ovipositor any aphids encountered, a behaviour suggesting that host acceptance and rejection were determined by internal cues. Prolonged ovipositor insertion (>80 s) was correlated with host acceptance and egg deposition, but short insertion times (≤80 s) generally indicated host rejection. Females tended to reject both self- and conspecific-parasitized aphids when provided with two of each kind. We consider hypotheses mat conspecific superparasitism may be adaptive and give examples to show exceptions. We propose that, in egg-limited parasitoid species such as A. asychis, a reproductive strategy based on the regulation of egg production and on oosorption can explain the equal avoidance of self and conspecific superparasitism.