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Behavioural consequences of cold exposure on males and females of Aphidius rhopalosiphi De Stephani Perez (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)

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Abstract

Cold storage of insect parasitoids is currently used before mass release in the field in biological control programmes. The physiological consequences of constant cold storage are known in various species of parasitic wasps, but there are few reports on the behaviour of survivors and even fewer reports where both sexes were tested. In this study, we observed the consequences of a long storage of Aphidius rhopalosiphi De Stephani Perez (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a parasitoid of the cereal aphid Sitobion avenae Fabricius (Hemiptera: Aphididae), at low temperature on some key behavioural decisions that both sexes will make when released in the field. Males are less tolerant than females and both sexes suffer from a long exposure (28 days or more) at 4°C during the pupal stage: alteration of olfactory responses, decrease in mating capacity and decrease in the efficiency of patch exploitation by females.

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Acknowledgments

We thank D. Webb (Rennes University), M. O’Neill and the three anonymous referees for their constructive and valuable comments on the manuscript. We also thank A. Bertrand for the assistance with some of experiments on females. This paper is number BRC205 of the Biodiversity Research Centre.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. UMR 6553 CNRS, EcoBio, Université de Rennes I, Equipe Impact des Changements Climatiques, Station Biologique, 35380, Paimpont, France

    Delphine Bourdais, Philippe Vernon & Joan van Baaren

  2. UMR 6553 CNRS, EcoBio, Université de Rennes I, Equipe Impact des Changements Climatiques, Campus de Beaulieu, Avenue du Général Leclerc, 35042, Rennes cedex, France

    Delphine Bourdais, Philippe Vernon & Joan van Baaren

  3. Biodiversity Research Center, Earth and Life Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Place Croix du Sud 4–5, 1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

    Delphine Bourdais

  4. Equipe d’Ecobiologie des Insectes Parasitoïdes, Université de Rennes I, Avenue du Général Leclerc, 35042, Rennes cedex, France

    Liliane Krespi

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  1. Delphine Bourdais
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  2. Philippe Vernon
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  3. Liliane Krespi
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  4. Joan van Baaren
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Correspondence to Delphine Bourdais.

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Bourdais, D., Vernon, P., Krespi, L. et al. Behavioural consequences of cold exposure on males and females of Aphidius rhopalosiphi De Stephani Perez (Hymenoptera: Braconidae). BioControl 57, 349–360 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10526-011-9396-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10526-011-9396-0

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