A Preliminary Investigation of the Interactions between the Brood Parasite Chalcoela iphitalis and Its Polistine Wasp Hosts

The life history of -a common brood parasite of social wasps-has been described in previous literature, but critical information regarding oviposition behavior and possible differential host parasitism remain cryptic. Here we report on infestation levels of this moth in field populations of paper wa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inInsects (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 8; no. 3; p. 89
Main Authors Nacko, Scott, Henderson, Gregg
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Switzerland MDPI AG 24.08.2017
MDPI
Subjects
Butterflies & moths
Chalcoela iphitalis
ectoparasite
Eggs
Host-parasite interactions
Hymenoptera
Infestation
Laboratories
Life history
Mischocyttarus
Oviposition
Parasitism
Polistes
social
ectoparasite
Polistes
Mischocyttarus
social
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Summary:The life history of -a common brood parasite of social wasps-has been described in previous literature, but critical information regarding oviposition behavior and possible differential host parasitism remain cryptic. Here we report on infestation levels of this moth in field populations of paper wasps in and , as well as the oviposition behavior of the moths under a laboratory setting. We found evidence for differential parasitism between paper wasp genera in the field, with almost 50% nest infestation in and no occurrences of moth infestation in . Laboratory results revealed that oviposition occurs only at night and is stimulated by contact with the wasp nest or adult wasps. In this setting, eggs were laid largely on the substrate above or adjacent to the host nest, but not on the nest itself.
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ISSN:2075-4450
2075-4450
DOI:10.3390/insects8030089