Lipids as currency in parasitoid competition: Interactions between two lipid-scavenging species

TY - JOUR

T1 - Lipids as currency in parasitoid competition: Interactions between two lipid-scavenging species

AU - Lammers, Mark

AU - Gorkum, Tim A.M.van

AU - Hoeijmans, Stefanie

AU - Kraaijeveld, Ken

AU - Harvey, Jeffrey A.

AU - Ellers, Jacintha

N1 - Data archiving: NIOO data

PY - 2026/1/23

Y1 - 2026/1/23

N2 - Lipid scavengers are organisms that rely on exogenous lipid acquisition as they lack the ability to synthesize fatty acids de novo or in sufficient quantity. Most parasitoid wasps are lipid scavengers and obtain required lipids by feeding on their hosts as larvae. Here, we studied the nutritional ecology of competitive interactions and the possibility of trophic flexibility between a native species, the pupal ectoparasitoid Nasonia vitripennis and an exotic species, the larval-pupal endoparasitoid, Tachinaephagus zealandicus . While the former species has been shown to alter host lipid content to their own benefit, we show that T . zealandicus also relies on host lipids. Competitive interactions between the two species were studied using non-choice tests, in which oviposition of T . zealandicus on a host was followed by multiparasitism by N . vitripennis . The outcome of competition was determined by the duration of the time lag between oviposition events. N . vitripennis prevailed when arriving three days after oviposition by T . zealandicus . In contrast, nine days after oviposition by T . zealandicus , no N . vitripennis offspring survived. Only when N . vitripennis laid eggs fifteen days after T . zealandicus did both species emerge from the same host. This suggests that successful emergence of N . vitripennis in this treatment was achieved through hyperparasitism. Choice experiments with hosts at different time intervals after T. zealandicus oviposition revealed a partial mismatch in N. vitripennis females between competition avoidance and offspring performance, which may be linked to the limited co-evolutionary time interval between the native and introduced species. We discuss the role of lipids in the context of interspecific competition in parasitoids.

AB - Lipid scavengers are organisms that rely on exogenous lipid acquisition as they lack the ability to synthesize fatty acids de novo or in sufficient quantity. Most parasitoid wasps are lipid scavengers and obtain required lipids by feeding on their hosts as larvae. Here, we studied the nutritional ecology of competitive interactions and the possibility of trophic flexibility between a native species, the pupal ectoparasitoid Nasonia vitripennis and an exotic species, the larval-pupal endoparasitoid, Tachinaephagus zealandicus . While the former species has been shown to alter host lipid content to their own benefit, we show that T . zealandicus also relies on host lipids. Competitive interactions between the two species were studied using non-choice tests, in which oviposition of T . zealandicus on a host was followed by multiparasitism by N . vitripennis . The outcome of competition was determined by the duration of the time lag between oviposition events. N . vitripennis prevailed when arriving three days after oviposition by T . zealandicus . In contrast, nine days after oviposition by T . zealandicus , no N . vitripennis offspring survived. Only when N . vitripennis laid eggs fifteen days after T . zealandicus did both species emerge from the same host. This suggests that successful emergence of N . vitripennis in this treatment was achieved through hyperparasitism. Choice experiments with hosts at different time intervals after T. zealandicus oviposition revealed a partial mismatch in N. vitripennis females between competition avoidance and offspring performance, which may be linked to the limited co-evolutionary time interval between the native and introduced species. We discuss the role of lipids in the context of interspecific competition in parasitoids.

KW - Coexistence

KW - Intrinsic competition

KW - Multiparasitism

KW - Nasonia vitripennis

KW - Tachinaephagus zealandicus

KW - Trophic switch

U2 - 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2026.104942

DO - 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2026.104942

M3 - Article

C2 - 41580113

AN - SCOPUS:105028403667

SN - 0022-1910

VL - 169

JO - Journal of Insect Physiology

JF - Journal of Insect Physiology

M1 - 104942

ER -