Chemical Ecology of Egg Parasitoids Associated with True Bugs

Parasitoids representing some 15 families of Hymenoptera develop in insect eggs; three of these families, Platygastridae (= Scelionidae), Mymaridae, and Encyrtidae, are associated with Heteroptera. Several species of heteropteran egg parasitoids are or may be important for biological pest control. S...

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Main Authors: Eric Conti, Stefano Colazza
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2012-01-01
Series:Psyche: A Journal of Entomology
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/651015
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author Eric Conti
Stefano Colazza
author_facet Eric Conti
Stefano Colazza
author_sort Eric Conti
collection DOAJ
description Parasitoids representing some 15 families of Hymenoptera develop in insect eggs; three of these families, Platygastridae (= Scelionidae), Mymaridae, and Encyrtidae, are associated with Heteroptera. Several species of heteropteran egg parasitoids are or may be important for biological pest control. Successful parasitism of insect herbivores by insect parasitoids arises through several phases of host searching, which lead female wasps to the vicinity of, or in contact with, their hosts. During the host location process, females encounter and explore a variety of stimuli, among which chemical cues (i.e., semiochemicals or infochemicals) play a pivotal role. Female parasitoids are under selection pressure to efficiently invest their limited time on the location and exploitation of host-derived stimuli. In general, the levels of reliability and detectability of a particular stimulus are inversely correlated. Female parasitic wasps adopt differing strategies to solve this dilemma. In this paper we focus on the various host selection strategies employed by heteropteran egg parasitoids and possible means whereby the chemically mediated behavior of these wasps may be exploited to enhance biological pest control.
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spelling doaj-art-a91caecedde2425ba1094420cc17aaa62025-08-20T03:39:09ZengWileyPsyche: A Journal of Entomology0033-26151687-74382012-01-01201210.1155/2012/651015651015Chemical Ecology of Egg Parasitoids Associated with True BugsEric Conti0Stefano Colazza1Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno, 06121 Perugia, ItalyDipartimento DEMETRA, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Building 5, 90128 Palermo, ItalyParasitoids representing some 15 families of Hymenoptera develop in insect eggs; three of these families, Platygastridae (= Scelionidae), Mymaridae, and Encyrtidae, are associated with Heteroptera. Several species of heteropteran egg parasitoids are or may be important for biological pest control. Successful parasitism of insect herbivores by insect parasitoids arises through several phases of host searching, which lead female wasps to the vicinity of, or in contact with, their hosts. During the host location process, females encounter and explore a variety of stimuli, among which chemical cues (i.e., semiochemicals or infochemicals) play a pivotal role. Female parasitoids are under selection pressure to efficiently invest their limited time on the location and exploitation of host-derived stimuli. In general, the levels of reliability and detectability of a particular stimulus are inversely correlated. Female parasitic wasps adopt differing strategies to solve this dilemma. In this paper we focus on the various host selection strategies employed by heteropteran egg parasitoids and possible means whereby the chemically mediated behavior of these wasps may be exploited to enhance biological pest control.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/651015
spellingShingle Eric Conti
Stefano Colazza
Chemical Ecology of Egg Parasitoids Associated with True Bugs
Psyche: A Journal of Entomology
title Chemical Ecology of Egg Parasitoids Associated with True Bugs
title_full Chemical Ecology of Egg Parasitoids Associated with True Bugs
title_fullStr Chemical Ecology of Egg Parasitoids Associated with True Bugs
title_full_unstemmed Chemical Ecology of Egg Parasitoids Associated with True Bugs
title_short Chemical Ecology of Egg Parasitoids Associated with True Bugs
title_sort chemical ecology of egg parasitoids associated with true bugs
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/651015
work_keys_str_mv AT ericconti chemicalecologyofeggparasitoidsassociatedwithtruebugs
AT stefanocolazza chemicalecologyofeggparasitoidsassociatedwithtruebugs