Strong effects of food quality on host life history do not scale to impact parasitoid efficacy or life history.

ABSTRACT: Parasitoids are small insects, (e.g., small wasps or flies) that reproduce by laying eggs on or within host arthropods. Parasitoids make up a large proportion of the world's biodiversity and are popular agents of biological control. Idiobiont parasitoids paralyze their hosts upon attack and thus are expected to only target hosts large enough to support offspring development. Host resources generally impact host attributes and life histories including size, development, and life span. Some argue slow host development in response to resource quality increases parasitoid efficacy (i.e., a parasitoid's ability to successfully reproduce on or within a host) due to longer host exposure to parasitoids. However, this hypothesis is not always supported and does not consider variation in other host

SUBMITTER: Holmes LA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9981602 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature