| Abstrakt: |
Abstract: Analyses of data from the literature clearly indicate that the developmental rates of insect natural enemies that feed on aphids and coccids differ and reflect that of their prey. An attempt to factor out the various confounding factors has been criticized as facile. Here it is argued that as the rates of development of both parasitoids and predators that feed on aphids and coccids differ similarly, and the most likely process underlying this pattern is the same, the evidence for the rates being adaptive rather than phylogenetically constrained is too strong to be ignored. |
