The parasitoid complex associated with the herbivoreHadena bicruris(Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) onSilene latifolia(Caryophyllaceae) in the Netherlands

Details

Serval ID
serval:BIB_FB13FEBC69FA
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Title
The parasitoid complex associated with the herbivoreHadena bicruris(Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) onSilene latifolia(Caryophyllaceae) in the Netherlands
Journal
Journal of Natural History
Author(s)
Elzinga Jelmer A., Zwakhals Kees, Harvey Jeffrey A., Biere Arjen
ISSN
0022-2933
1464-5262
Publication state
Published
Issued date
16/02/2007
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
41
Number
1-4
Pages
101-123
Language
english
Abstract
Larvae of the moth, Hadena bicruris, constitute the most important predispersal seed predator on Silene latifolia (Caryophyllaceae). Parasitoids attacking the larvae of this specialist noctuid can potentially decrease the amount of damage to the plant. This paper describes and quantifies the parasitoid complex associated with H. bicruris in the Netherlands, and documents life history characters of its species. Forty‐four percent of larval H. bicruris were parasitized by at least 13 species of parasitoids. The most prevalent of these were the braconids Microplitis tristis (22.9%) and Bracon variator (4.9%) and the ichneumonids Eurylabus tristis (11.7%) and Ophion pteridis (3.4%). Other species occurring sporadically were: the ichneumonids Scambus brevicornis, S. buolianae, Erigorgus cerinops, and Hyposoter sp.; the tachinids Phryxe vulgaris, P. nemea, Blondelia nigripes and Siphona geniculata; and a Mermithidae sp. The ichneumonid hyperparasitoid Mesochorus lanceolatus was found occasionally in larvae of M. tristis. The hyperparasitoid ichneumonids Gelis agilis, G. hortensis and the chalcids Baryscapus endemus, Pteromalus chrysos and P. vibulenus were found in cocoons of both M. tristis and B. variator. The primary parasitoids M. tristis, E. tristis, and to a lesser extent, O. pteridis, are believed to be specialized on Hadena. The effect of the parasitoids on herbivory by their host is probably small because the most common parasitoid species are koinobionts that attack large, late instar hosts. Only B. variator and Scambus spp., which are ectoparasitoids, arrest host development immediately upon parasitism, but like the other parasitoids they kill mainly large L4 or L5 hosts. The gregarious M. tristis and B. variator produce clutches with a female‐biased sex ratio, in contrast to the solitary E. tristis where the sex ratio approaches equality. The ectoparasitoid B. variator produces mostly single‐sex clutches, probably avoiding deleterious effects of inbreeding. The clutch size distributions suggest that large clutches of M. tristis and B. variator are probably caused by multiple parasitisms.
Keywords
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Web of science
Create date
19/11/2007 10:55
Last modification date
20/08/2019 16:26
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