Center for Biological Control of Northeastern Forest Insects and Diseases, USDA, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station, 51 Mill Pond Road, 06514, Hamden, Connecticut.
J Chem Ecol. 1984 Feb;10(2):311-20. doi: 10.1007/BF00987859.
The host selection process ofBlepharipa pratensis (Meigen), a tachinid parasite of the gypsy moth,Lymantria dispar L., was investigated. Once in the host's habitat, and following contact with a recently damaged leaf edge (cut, torn, eaten), the fly orients perpendicular to the edge and moves back and forth with the front tarsi grasping the damaged edge. Oviposturing (oviposition intention) may occur. Leaf exudates appear to arrest the fly on the leaf and increase tarsal examination (searching). If an edge of a gypsy moth-eaten leaf is contacted, oviposition usually occurs. Significantly more eggs are laid when host-browsed foliage is encountered, compared to mechanically cut or damaged foliage, indicating response to a cue left by the host during feeding. The number of host-damaged leaf clusters in an area significantly enhances oviposition there; in field-cage tests, significantly more eggs (7911) were laid in simulated-crown areas with all clusters browsed, compared to the adjacent areas containing 1/2 browsed (4200 eggs) and undamaged clusters (2209 eggs). A host selection sequence is suggested and discussed.
舞毒蛾长尾小蜂（Blepharipa pratensis）是舞毒蛾（Lymantria dispar L.）的一种寄生性蝇类，本文研究了其宿主选择过程。长尾小蜂一旦进入宿主栖息地，接触到最近受损的叶缘（切割、撕裂、啃食），就会垂直于叶缘定向，并以前跗节抓住受损叶缘前后移动。可能会进行产卵（产卵意图）。叶渗出物似乎会使苍蝇停留在叶子上，并增加跗节检查（搜索）。如果接触到被舞毒蛾啃食的叶子边缘，通常会进行产卵。与机械切割或受损的叶子相比，遇到被宿主啃食的叶子时产卵量明显增加，这表明对宿主在进食过程中留下的线索有反应。该区域中宿主受损的叶簇数量显著增加了其产卵量；在田间笼试验中，与相邻的仅半啃食（4200 个卵）和未受损叶簇（2209 个卵）相比，模拟树冠区域中的所有叶簇都被啃食时，产卵量（7911 个卵）显著增加。本文提出并讨论了一个宿主选择序列。
