Honeydew composition and its effect on life-history parameters of hyperparasitoids

TY - JOUR

T1 - Honeydew composition and its effect on life-history parameters of hyperparasitoids

AU - van Neerbos, Frank A. C.

AU - de Boer, Jetske G.

AU - Salis, Lucia

AU - Tollenaar, Ward

AU - Kos, Martine

AU - Vet, Louise E. M.

AU - Harvey, Jeffrey A.

N1 - 6827, TE; Data Archiving:

PY - 2020

Y1 - 2020

N2 - 1. Diets that maximise life span often differ from diets that maximise reproduction. Animals have therefore evolved advanced foraging strategies to acquire optimal nutrition and maximise their fitness. The free-living adult females of parasitoid wasps (Hymenoptera) need to balance their search for hosts to reproduce and for carbohydrate resources to feed. 2. Honeydew, excreted by phloem-feeding insects, presents a widely available carbohydrate source in nature that can benefit natural enemies of honeydew-producing insects. However, the effects of variation in honeydew on organisms in the fourth trophic level, such as hyperparasitoids, are not yet understood. 3. This study examined how five different honeydew types influence longevity and fecundity of four hyperparasitoid taxa. Asaphes spp. (Pteromalidae) and Dendrocerus spp. (Megaspilidae) are secondary parasitoids of aphid parasitoids and are thus associated with honeydew-producing insects. Gelis agilis and Acrolyta nens (both Ichneumonidae) are secondary parasitoids of species that do not use honeydew-producing hosts. 4. Most honeydew types had a positive or neutral effect on life span and fecundity of hyperparasitoids compared with controls without honeydew, although negative effects were also found for both aphid hyperparasitoids. Honeydew produced by aphids feeding on sweet pepper plants was most beneficial for all hyperparasitoid taxa, which can partially be explained by the high amount of honeydew, but also by the composition of dietary sugars in these honeydew types. 5. The findings of this study underline the value of aphid honeydew as a carbohydrate resource for fourth-trophic-level organisms, not only those associated with honeydew-producing insects but also ?interlopers? without such a natural association.

AB - 1. Diets that maximise life span often differ from diets that maximise reproduction. Animals have therefore evolved advanced foraging strategies to acquire optimal nutrition and maximise their fitness. The free-living adult females of parasitoid wasps (Hymenoptera) need to balance their search for hosts to reproduce and for carbohydrate resources to feed. 2. Honeydew, excreted by phloem-feeding insects, presents a widely available carbohydrate source in nature that can benefit natural enemies of honeydew-producing insects. However, the effects of variation in honeydew on organisms in the fourth trophic level, such as hyperparasitoids, are not yet understood. 3. This study examined how five different honeydew types influence longevity and fecundity of four hyperparasitoid taxa. Asaphes spp. (Pteromalidae) and Dendrocerus spp. (Megaspilidae) are secondary parasitoids of aphid parasitoids and are thus associated with honeydew-producing insects. Gelis agilis and Acrolyta nens (both Ichneumonidae) are secondary parasitoids of species that do not use honeydew-producing hosts. 4. Most honeydew types had a positive or neutral effect on life span and fecundity of hyperparasitoids compared with controls without honeydew, although negative effects were also found for both aphid hyperparasitoids. Honeydew produced by aphids feeding on sweet pepper plants was most beneficial for all hyperparasitoid taxa, which can partially be explained by the high amount of honeydew, but also by the composition of dietary sugars in these honeydew types. 5. The findings of this study underline the value of aphid honeydew as a carbohydrate resource for fourth-trophic-level organisms, not only those associated with honeydew-producing insects but also ?interlopers? without such a natural association.

KW - Carbohydrates

KW - foraging behaviour

KW - Hymenoptera

KW - life-history trade-off

KW - nutritional ecology

KW - NIOO

KW - Plan_S-Compliant-TA

U2 - 10.1111/een.12799

DO - 10.1111/een.12799

M3 - Article

SN - 0307-6946

VL - 45

SP - 278

EP - 289

JO - Ecological Entomology

JF - Ecological Entomology

IS - 2

ER -