Effects of adult age and body size on egg maturation in the parasitoid Gronotoma micromorpha (Hymenoptera: Figitidae)

Autor: Yajiao WU, Yoshihisa ABE
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: European Journal of Entomology, Vol 118, Iss 1, Pp 364-367 (2021)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1210-5759
1802-8829
DOI: 10.14411/eje.2021.038
Popis: The cynipoid wasp Gronotoma micromorpha (Perkins) (Hymenoptera: Figitidae) is a parasitoid of the leaf miner Liriomyza trifolii (Burgess) (Diptera: Agromyzidae). The effects of adult age and body size on egg maturation in G. micromorpha were determined. The results showed that its egg load (number of mature eggs per female) increased when offered honey, water, but not hosts for 3 or 6 days after adult emergence. However, there was no significant difference in the egg loads of 3- and 6-day-old wasps. These findings and the results of previous studies on other cynipoid parasitoids suggest that when hosts are not available, females of parasitoid Cynipoidea enhance their reproductive capacity in anticipation of a future improvement in the availability of hosts by using carbohydrates and reserves stored during the larval stage. Moreover, large female wasps had higher egg loads throughout their lifetime. Given that rapid increases in the population density of L. trifolii are commonly reported in greenhouses, the demographic data of 0- and 3-day-old G. micromorpha females fed honey, need to be compared in the future. The effects of body size on the fecundity and longevity of G. micromorpha wasps should also be determined.
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