Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Genetic Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, People's Republic of China.
Bull Entomol Res. 2023 Oct;113(5):645-657. doi: 10.1017/S0007485323000342. Epub 2023 Aug 14.
Galls function as provide shelter for gall inducers, guarding them against their natural enemies. Previous research has illuminated the interactions between galls, gall inducers, and their corresponding parasitoids within various caltrop plants. However, less is known about these relationships within , particularly regarding the efficacy of parasitism. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the morphometric relationships among the swollen galls, gall inducers, and their parasitoids. Two species of gall inducers and three species of parasitoids were obtained from the swollen galls of . The correlations of the parasitization indexes, the lifespan of gall inhabitants, and temperature and the morphometric relationships between the galls and their inhabitants were analyzed. The dominant gall inducer identified was sp. (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae). Furthermore, it was observed that three solitary parasitoids attacked sp. in the swollen galls, with only acting as an idiobiont ectoparasitoid. The dominant parasitoids were sp. and at sites 1 and 2, respectively, with sp. displaying greater abundance than in the swollen galls. The lifespan of the gall inhabitants shortened gradually as the temperature increased. Moreover, the optimal number of gall chambers ranged from two to four per swollen gall with maximized fitness, which can be considered the optimal population density for the gall inducer sp. Morphometric analysis exhibited a strong linear correlation between gall size and chamber number or the number of gall inhabitants, as well as a weak correlation between gall size and body size of the primary inhabitants of swollen galls. Our results highlight the importance of the biological investigation of parasitoids and gall inducers living in closed galls with multiple chambers and may pave the way for potential application in biological control.
虫瘿为瘿蜂提供庇护所，保护它们免受天敌侵害。先前的研究阐明了各种菱角植物中虫瘿、瘿蜂及其相应寄生蜂之间的相互作用。然而，对于这些关系在 中的表现知之甚少，特别是关于寄生效率。因此，本研究旨在确定肿胀虫瘿、瘿蜂及其寄生蜂之间的形态关系。从 中的肿胀虫瘿中获得了两种瘿蜂和三种寄生蜂。分析了寄生指数、瘿蜂寿命与温度的相关性以及虫瘿与其寄生者之间的形态关系。鉴定的主要瘿蜂是 sp.（双翅目：瘿蚊科）。此外，观察到三种独居寄生蜂在肿胀虫瘿中攻击 sp.，其中只有 作为外寄生蜂。优势寄生蜂分别是 sp.和 在地点 1 和 2，其中 sp.在肿胀虫瘿中的丰度大于 。随着温度的升高，瘿蜂的寿命逐渐缩短。此外，每个肿胀虫瘿的最佳虫室数量为 2 到 4 个，适应性最佳，这可以被认为是瘿蜂 sp.的最佳种群密度。形态分析表明，虫瘿大小与室数或虫瘿居民数之间存在很强的线性相关性，而与肿胀虫瘿主要居民的体型之间存在较弱的相关性。我们的研究结果强调了对具有多个虫室的封闭虫瘿中寄生蜂和瘿蜂的生物调查的重要性，并为潜在的生物防治应用铺平了道路。
