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Foraging Strategies of Stemborer Parasites and their Application to Biological Control

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Abstract

Patterns of stemborer life history and the foraging patterns exhibited by a taxonomically diverse array of stemborer parasites are described. Foraging strategies provide functional descriptions of natural parasite groupings and include elements of the guild concept plus ecological, behavioural, and morphological adaptations that enable a parasite to locate and exploit a particular host effectively. Elements of the foraging strategy include: host stage attacked, microhabitat of the host, cues employed to locate and identify the host, and method of host attack. Possible constraints presented by the crop plants to the success of different foraging strategies exhibited by groups of parasites are explored.

Résumé

Différent types de cycles de vie et modèles de recherches de l’hôte exhibés par un ensemble impressionant de parasites, taxonomiquement differents, de foreurs de tige de céreales sont décrits. Les stratégies de recherches fournissent des descriptions fonctionnelles de regroupement naturel des parasites et comprennent des éléments du concept d’association, des éléments écologiques, de comportements, et des adaptations morphologiques qui permettent au parasite de trouver et d’exploiter efficacement un hôte donné. La strategie de recherche comprend les éléments suivants: le stade de l’hôte attaqué, le microhabitat de l’hôte, les signaux utilisés pour localiser et identifier l’hôte, et les méthodes d’attaques de l’hôte. Les contraintes éventuelles présentées par les plantes cultivées sur le succès des différents types de stratégies de recherches exhibés par des groupes de parasites, sont explorées.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biological Control Laboratory, Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University College, Station, TX, 77843, USA

    J. W. Smith Jr.

  2. Center for Economic Entomology, Illinois Natural History Survey, 607 East Peabody, Champaign, IL, 61820, USA

    R. N. Wiedenmann

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  1. J. W. Smith Jr.
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Smith, J.W., Wiedenmann, R.N. Foraging Strategies of Stemborer Parasites and their Application to Biological Control. Int J Trop Insect Sci 17, 37–49 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1017/S1742758400022153

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