Inter- and intraspecific interactions among larvae of specialist and generalist parasitoids |
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Authors: | Keisuke Iwao and Naota Ohsaki |
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Institution: | (1) Laboratory of Entomology, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyoto University, 606-01 Kyoto, Japan;(2) Present address: Division of Entomology, National Institute of Agro-Environmental Sciences, 305 Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan |
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Abstract: | Intra- and interspecific larval interactions that take place in a host body were investigated for two tachnid fliesEpicampocera succincta andCompsilura concinnata (Diptera: Tachinidae) parasitizingPieris butterfly larvae.E. succincta, a specialist onPieris butterflies, showed contest-type intraspecific competition, eliminating all the other conspecific larvae. On the other hand,
an extreme generalist parasitoidC. concinnata exhibited scramble-type competition, sharing the host with other conspecifics and suffering reduced body size as a result.
However, when these two species occurred together in a single host,C. concinnata had a much higher chance of survival. Moreover,C. concinnata could often survive in the presence of a parasitoid waspCotesia glomerata (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) whileE. succincta could not. The high tolerance ofC. concinnata could be attributable to its being an extreme generalist: To attack and survive on many different hosts, one has to be able
to deal with various competitors. The competitive inferiority of the specialistE. succincta, on the other hand, may be a result of relatively recent encounter with, those competitors. |
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Keywords: | Tachinidae specialization competition host range Epicampocera succincta Compsilura concinnata |
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