Abstract
Pauesia picta, P. pinicollis and P. silvestris (Hymenoptera: Aphidiidae) are common parasitoids of the conifer aphid Cinara pinea, which is regularly attended by red wood ants (Formica spp.). In this study, I tested whether females of these parasitoid species learned during interactions with honeydew-collecting Formica polyctena workers that caution is not necessary if searching behaviour is adapted, and whether parasitoids benefit from being able to learn. When searching on Scots pines, naive females of P. picta and P. pinicollis generally retreated to a pine needle when making contact with a honeydew-collecting ant, did not approach ants from the side or from the front and kept a ”safe distance” from ants when sitting on needles. After some non- aggressive ant encounters, experienced female parasitoids changed their behaviour: they reduced their searching speed, approached ants from the side and even from the front, retreated less often in response to an approaching ant and reduced the ”safe distance”. These experienced females had a significantly higher rate of oviposition than naive females or females foraging for an unattended host. Thus, the ability of the parasitoid to learn during interactions with an antagonist led to a prolonged retention time and a higher oviposition rate. By contrast, there was no evidence of learning in P. silvestris. Females of this species showed no behavioural change in response to ant encounters, and there was no difference in the foraging success of naive and experienced female parasitoids.
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Received: 7 December 1999 / Revised: 23 September 2000 / Accepted: 10 March 2000
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Völkl, W. Parasitoid learning during interactions with ants: how to deal with an aggressive antagonist. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 49, 135–144 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/s002650000285
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s002650000285