Influence of host deprivation on egg load and oviposition behaviour of Brachymeria intermedia, a parasitoid of gypsy moth

Abstract

Abstract. Mated female Brachymeria intermedia (Hymenoptera: Chalcididae) deprived, since emergence, from pupae of their host Lymantria dispar (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae), accumulated eggs but had a very low rate of hostacceptance. Parasitoids that were host‐deprived after encountering pupae early in life also accumulated eggs, but maintained a high acceptance rate. Thus early exposure to hosts promoted active reproductive behaviour. Total egg production depended on the total number of pupae encountered, indicating that B.intermedia adjust their egg production to host availability. Hence, in B. intermedia both the physiological state of the parasitoid (age and egg load) and the informational state (in this case host‐availability and experience) interact to shape oviposition behaviour.