Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Parasitism rates and sex ratios of a parasitoid wasp: effects of herbivore and plant quality

  • Original Papers
  • Published:
Oecologia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Summary

We studied interactions among collards, Brassica oleracea var. acephala, the diamondback moth (DBM), Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Yponomeutidae) and its parasitoid Diadegma insulare (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) by manipulating plant nitrogen (N) concentrations in field and laboratory experiments. Parasitoid abundance strongly reflected DBM abundance and was related to total leaf N. Parasitism rates were high (70.7%) and density-independent. Wasp sex ratios varied markedly (3–93% female) in response to the herbivores, the plants, or both. Higher proportions of female wasps emerged from DBM larvae on plants with high leaf N than on unfertilized plants. More female wasps also emerged from larvae parasitized as larger instars. We suggest that wasps have the potential to control DBM populations through long-term numerical responses mediated by variable sex ratios.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Allen SE (ed) (1974) Chemical Analysis of Ecological Materials. Wiley, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson RM, May RM (1978) Regulation and stability of hostparasite interactions. I. Regulatory processes. J Anim Ecol 47:219–247

    Google Scholar 

  • Barbosa P (1988) Natural enemies and herbivore-plant interactions: influence of plant allelochemicals and host specificity. In: Barbosa P, Letourneau DK (eds) Novel Aspects of Insect-Plant Interactions. Wiley, NY, pp 201–229

    Google Scholar 

  • Barbosa P, Saunders JA (1985) Plant allelochemicals: linkages between herbivores and their natural enemies. In: Cooper-Driver GA, Swain T, Conn EE (eds) Chemically Mediated Interactions between Plants and other Organisms, Plenum, NY, pp 107–137

    Google Scholar 

  • Bouletreau M (1976) Influence de la photoperiode subie par les adultes sur la sex ratio de la descendance chez Pteromalus puparum (Hymenoptera; Chalcididae). Entomol Exp Appl 19:197–204

    Google Scholar 

  • Bull JJ (1983) Evolution of Sex Determining Mechanisms. Benjamin-Cummings, Menlo Park CA

    Google Scholar 

  • Campbell BC, Duffey SF (1979) Tomatine and parasitic wasps: potential incompatibility of plant antibiosis with biological control. Science 20:700–702

    Google Scholar 

  • Campbell BC, Duffey SF (1981) Alleviation of tomatine induced toxicity to the parasitoid, Hyposoter exiguae by phytosterols in the diet of the host, Heliothis zea. J Chem Ecol 7:927–946

    Google Scholar 

  • Charnov EL (1979) The genetical evolution of patterns of sexuality: Darwinian fitness. Am Nat 113:465–480

    Google Scholar 

  • Charnov EL (1982) The Theory of Sex Allocation. Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ

    Google Scholar 

  • Charnov EL, Skinner SW (1984) Evolution of host selection and clutch size in parasitoid wasps. Florida Entomol 67:5–21

    Google Scholar 

  • Charnov EL, Hartogh RL, Jones WT, Assem J van den (1981) Sex ratio evolution in a variable environment. Nature 289:27–33

    Google Scholar 

  • Chua TH, Ooi PAC (1986) Evaluation of three parasites in the biological control of diamondback moth in the Cameron Highlands, Malaysia. In: Talekar NS (ed), Diamondback Moth Management. Proc. First Intl Workshop, Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center. Shan-hua, Taiwan, pp 173–184

  • Clarke C (1984) Upsets in the sex-ratio of some Lepidoptera. In: Vane-Wright RI, Ackery PR (eds) The Biology of Butterflies. Academic Press, Orlando FL, pp 255–258

    Google Scholar 

  • Comins HN, Wellings PW (1985) Density-related parasitoid sexratio: influence on host-parasitoid dynamics. J Anim Ecol 54:583–594

    Google Scholar 

  • Compton SJ, Jones CG (1985) Mechanism of dye response and interface in the Bradford protein assay. Anal Biochem 151:369–374

    Google Scholar 

  • Fischlin A, Baltensweiler W (1979) Systems analysis of the larch bud moth system. Part I: The larch-larch bud moth relationship. Mitt Schweiz Entomol Ges 52:273–289

    Google Scholar 

  • Goodwin S (1979) Changes in numbers in the parasitoid complex associated with the diamond-back moth, Plutella xylostella (L.) (Lepidoptera). Aust J Zool 27:981–989

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton WD (1967) Extraordinary sex ratios. Science 156:477–488

    Google Scholar 

  • Harcourt DG (1963) Mortality factors in the population dynamics of the diamondback moth, Plutella maculipennis (Curt.) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae). Mem Entomol Soc Canada 32:55–66

    Google Scholar 

  • Harcourt DG (1986) Population dynamics of the diamondback moth in southern Ontario. In: Talekar NS (ed), Diamondback Moth Management. Proc. First Intl Workshop, Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center. Shan-hua, Taiwan, pp 1–15

  • Hassell MP (1978) The Dynamics of Arthropod Predator-Prey Systems. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ

    Google Scholar 

  • Hassell MP (1986) Parasitoids and population regulation. In: Waage J, Greathead D (eds). Insect Parasitoids. Academic Press, Orlando FL, pp 201–224

    Google Scholar 

  • Hassell MP, Waage JK (1984) Host-parasitoid population interactions. Ann Rev Entomol 29:89–114

    Google Scholar 

  • Hassell MP, Waage JK, May RM (1983) Variable parasitoid sex ratios and their effect on host-parasitoid dynamics. J Anim Ecol 52:889–904

    Google Scholar 

  • Horn DJ (1987) Vegetational background and parasitism of larval diamond-back moths on collards. Ent Exp Appl 43:300–303

    Google Scholar 

  • Kfir R, Luck RF (1979) Effects of constant and variable temperature extremes on sex ratio and progeny production by Aphytis melinus and A. lingnanensis (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae). Ecol Entomol 4:335–344

    Google Scholar 

  • King BH (1989) Host-size-dependent sex ratios among parasitoid wasps: does host growth matter? Oecologia 78:420–426

    Google Scholar 

  • Letourneau DK, Fox LR (1989) Effects of nitrogen and parasitism of lepidopterous larvae on cabbage butterflies. Oecologia 80:211–214

    Google Scholar 

  • Luck RF, Podoler H (1985) Competitive exclusion of Aphytis lingnanensis by A. melinus: potential role of host size. Ecology 66:904–913

    Google Scholar 

  • May RM, Anderson RM (1978) Regulation and stability of hostparasite interactions. II. Destabilizing processes. J Anim Ecol 47:249–267

    Google Scholar 

  • Murdoch WW (1979) Predation and the dynamics of prey populations. Fortschr Zool 25:295–310

    Google Scholar 

  • Murdoch WW, Stewart-Oaten A (1989) Aggregation by parasitoids and predators: effects on equilibrium and stability. Am Nat 134:288–310

    Google Scholar 

  • Murdoch WW, Reeve JD, Huffaker CB, Kennett CE (1984) Biological control of scale insects and ecological theory. Am Nat 123:377–392

    Google Scholar 

  • Murdoch WW, Chesson J, Chesson P (1985) Biological control in theory and practice. Am Nat 125:344–366

    Google Scholar 

  • Nunney L, Luck RF (1988) Factors influencing the optimum sex ratio in a structured population. Theor Pop Bio 33:1–30

    Google Scholar 

  • Orion (1986) Model 93–07. Nitrate Electrode Instruction Manual. Orion Research, Inc.

  • Porter K (1984) Sunshine, sex ratio and behaviour of Euphydryas aurinia larvae. In: Vane-Wright RI, Ackery PR (eds), The Biology of Butterflies. Academic Press, Orlando FL, pp 309–311

    Google Scholar 

  • Reeve JD, Murdoch WW (1985) Aggregation by parasitoids in the successful control of the California red scale: a test of theory. J Anim Ecol 54:797–816

    Google Scholar 

  • SAS (1988) SAS/STAT Guide for Personal Computers. Version 6 edition

  • Sokal RR, Rohlf FJ (1981) Biometry. 2nd edition, Freeman & Co. San Francisco CA

    Google Scholar 

  • Southwood TR, Comins HN (1976) A synoptic population model. J Anim Ecol 45:949–965

    Google Scholar 

  • Strong DR (1984) Density-vague ecology and liberal population regulation in insects. In: Price PW, Slobodchikoff CN, Gaud WS (eds), A New Ecology: Novel Approaches to Interactive Systems. Wiley, New York, pp 313–327

    Google Scholar 

  • Strong DR (1986) Density vagueness: abiding the variance in the demography of real populations. In: Diamond J, Case TJ (eds), Community Biology. Harper & Row, New York, pp 257–268

    Google Scholar 

  • Vinson SB (1981) Habitat location. In: Nordlund DA, Jones RL, Lewis WJ (eds) Semiochemicals: Their Role in Pest Control, Wiley, New York, pp 51–77

    Google Scholar 

  • Vinson SB, Iwantsch GF (1980) Host suitability for insect parasitoids. Ann Rev Entomol 25:397–419

    Google Scholar 

  • Waage JK (1982a) Sib-mating and sex ratio strategies in scelionid wasps. Ecol Entomol 7:103–112

    Google Scholar 

  • Waage JK (1982b) Sex ratio and population dynamics of natural enemies — some possible interactions. Ann Appl Biol 101:159–164

    Google Scholar 

  • Waage JK (1983) Aggregation in field parasitoid populations: foraging time allocation by a population of Diadegma (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae). Ecol Entomol 8:447–453

    Google Scholar 

  • Waage JK (1986) Family planning in parasitoids: adaptive patterns of progeny and sex allocation. In: Waage J, Greathead D (eds), Insect Parasitoids. Academic Press, Orlando, FL, pp 63–95

    Google Scholar 

  • Walde SJ, Murdoch WW (1988) Spatial density dependence in parasitoids. Ann Rev Entomol 33:441–466

    Google Scholar 

  • Walker TJ (1984) Do populations self-regulate? In: Huffaker B, Rabb RL (eds), Ecological Entomology, Wiley, New York, pp 531–558

    Google Scholar 

  • Werren JH (1984) A model for sex ratio selection in parasitic wasps: local mate competition and host quality effects. Neth J Zool 34:81–96

    Google Scholar 

  • Werren JH, Skinner SW, Huger AH (1986) Male-killing bacteria in a parasitic wasp. Science 231:990–992

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams HJ, Elzen GH, Vinson SB (1988) Parasitoid-host plant interactions emphasizing cotton (Gossypium). In: Barbosa P, Letourneau DK (eds) Novel Aspects of Insect-Plant Interactions. Wiley, NY, pp 171–200

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, University of California, 95064, Santa Cruz, CA, USA

    Laurel R. Fox, Jamin Eisenbach & Saskya Van Nouhuys

  2. Environmental Studies Board, University of California, 95064, Santa Cruz, CA, USA

    Deborah K. Letourneau

Authors
  1. Laurel R. Fox
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Deborah K. Letourneau
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jamin Eisenbach
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Saskya Van Nouhuys
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Fox, L.R., Letourneau, D.K., Eisenbach, J. et al. Parasitism rates and sex ratios of a parasitoid wasp: effects of herbivore and plant quality. Oecologia 83, 414–419 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00317569

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00317569

Key words

Search

Navigation