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In the Nick of Time: Males of the Parasitoid Wasp Pimpla disparis Respond to Semiochemicals from Emerging Mates

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Abstract

Males of the parasitoid wasp Pimpla disparis Viereck (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) aggregate on parasitized gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar, host pupae when the emergence of a prospective mate is imminent or under way. We tested the hypotheses that the developing parasitoid (“DePa”) inside the host pupal case produces a pheromone that attracts and arrests mate-seeking males, and that the pheromone is most effective during the emergence of the parasitoid from the host. Results obtained in two-choice laboratory experiments, with 4–7-d-old virgin males, indicate that (1) DePa-derived semiochemicals arrest males, (2) the opening of a host pupal case strongly arrests males, and (3) the arrestment cue emanates from oral fluid secreted by both female and male parasitoids while they chew their way out of a host pupal case. This phenomenon implies that emerging females, which are haplodiploid and can reproduce without mating, do not engage in active pheromone signaling to attract males, and that mate-seeking males co-opt chemicals involved in eclosion as a mate-finding cue, taking a 50% chance that the prospective mate is a female.

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Notes

  1. Aggregation pheromones are defined as substances produced by members of either or both sexes that induce members of both sexes to aggregate.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Sean McCann and Stephen Takács for photographs and for technical support and advice regarding macro photography and video setup, Stevo DeMuth for graphical illustrations, Ian Bercovitz for statistical advice, Pilar Cepeda for assistance with insect rearing, Jessika Iwanski for assistance in bioassays and in organizing the quarantine facility, and two anonymous referees for meticulous reviews and constructive comments. Funding was provided by a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) – Discovery Grant and by an NSERC – Industrial Research Chair to G. G., with Contech Enterprises, SC Johnson Canada, and Global Forest Science as sponsors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC, V5A 1S6, Canada

    Michael Hrabar, Adela Danci & Gerhard Gries

  2. United States Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Research Service, Beneficial Insects Introduction Research Laboratory, Newark, DE, 19713, USA

    Paul W. Schaefer

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  1. Michael Hrabar
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  2. Adela Danci
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  3. Paul W. Schaefer
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  4. Gerhard Gries
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Correspondence to Gerhard Gries.

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Hrabar, M., Danci, A., Schaefer, P.W. et al. In the Nick of Time: Males of the Parasitoid Wasp Pimpla disparis Respond to Semiochemicals from Emerging Mates. J Chem Ecol 38, 253–261 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-012-0079-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-012-0079-9

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