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Long-term memory (LTM) formation usually requires repeated, spaced learning events and is achieved by the synthesis of specific proteins. Other memory forms require a single learning experience and are independent of protein synthesis. We investigated in two closely related parasitic wasp species, C
1. Changing plant composition in a community can have profound consequences for herbivore and parasitoid population dynamics. To understand such effects, studies are needed that unravel the underlying behavioural decisions determining the responses of parasitoids to complex habitats. 2. T he search
The effects of an aggregation pheromone on individual behaviour and food web interactions were investigated in two ecological communities, using Drosophila melanogaster and D. simulans as focal species. 2. Fruit substrates with aggregation pheromone were significantly more attractive to adult D. mel
Insects can be conditioned to respond to odours through associative learning. Various learning parameters, such as the rate of odour acquisition, are known to depend on the type of conditioned stimulus. Here we investigate to what extent appetitive conditioning in the parasitoid Microplitis croceipe
The two closely related parasitoids Cotesia glomerata and C. rubecula (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) coexist in The Netherlands where they occupy slightly different niches. When searching for their caterpillar hosts, they use host plant odours that are released upon feeding by the caterpillars. The speci
Classical optimal-foraging theory predicts that a parasitoid is less likely to leave a patch after a host encounter when the host distribution is aggregated, whereas a parasitoid is more likely to leave after a host encounter when the host distribution is regular. Field data on host distributions in
Herbivorous and carnivorous arthropods use chemical information from plants during foraging. Aqueous leaf extracts from the syringa tree Melia azedarach and commercial formulations from the neem tree Azadirachta indica, Neemix 4.5®, were investigated for their impact on the flight response of two pa
Differences between results from ecological laboratory studies and what actually happens in the field can be large. Therefore, field experiments are essential to validate laboratory findings. In previous laboratory trials we investigated the impact of aqueous leaf extracts from the syringa tree, Mel
Lysibia nana is a solitary, secondary idiobiont hyperparasitoid that attacks newly cocooned pre-pupae and pupae of several closely related gregarious endoparasitoids in the genus Cotesia, including C. glomerata. Prior to oviposition, the female wasp injects paralysing venom into the host, thus preve
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