Abstract
1. When parasitoids and pathogens compete for the same host there are often severe costs to the parasitoid. Wasps might be expected, then, to avoid parasitizing pathogen-infected hosts. 2. When the solitary endoparasitoid Venturia canescens was presented with healthy and granulosis virus-infected larvae of the Indian Meal Moth Plodia interpunctella, it did not exhibit any difference in contact or probing behaviour between healthy and infected hosts. 3. However, oviposition behaviour was influenced by the level of infection, with a significant reduction in the number of eggs laid in heavily infected hosts. 4. Transmission of the pathogen did not occur directly through oviposition. However, transmission through contamination of the environment by the parasitoid following oviposition in infected hosts was demonstrated.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 586-591 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Functional Ecology |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1996 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- granulosis virus
- host acceptance
- Ichenumonidae
- Indian Meal Moth
- parasitoid