A Parasitoid of Aphids Manipulates Host Mummification Site, With Effects on Survival but Not Hyperparasitism.

ABSTRACT: Many parasites change the behavior of their host. Parasitoid wasps, for example, frequently engage in body guard manipulation to induce behaviors in their hosts that enhance parasite survival after pupation. Parasitoids of aphids have repeatedly been found to alter host location on the plant, thereby influencing the location where their host mummifies, that is their pupation site. Potential benefits of this behavior for the parasite, however, remain under debate. Combining experiments in the laboratory and the field, we tested whether the parasitoid Aphelinus chaonia induces behavioral changes in its aphid host to influence its mummification location and whether these reduce hyperparasitism, an important source of mortality to the developing parasitoid. Aphelinus chaonia clea

SUBMITTER: Reinmann N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12894770 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature