Kudô Kazuyuki, Oyaizu Wataru, Kusama Rikako, Yamaguchi Yuki, Koji Shinsaku
Laboratory of Insect Ecology, Faculty of Education, Niigata University, Niigata 950-2181, Japan.
Laboratory of Insect Ecology, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Niigata University, Niigata 950-2181, Japan.
Insects. 2024 Apr 12;15(4):266. doi: 10.3390/insects15040266.
Parasite growth in hosts depends on their hosts' nutritional status. This study examined whether the body size of the strepsipteran parasite , which parasitizes the eusocial wasp , is affected by several key factors, including host body size. We collected using bait traps for three years in Niigata, Japan, and evaluated the number of male and female parasites throughout the seasons. A total of 185 female parasites were collected, and their cephalothorax widths were measured. The widths of female parasites did not statistically vary among seasons and were positively correlated with the head widths of female host wasps but negatively correlated with the number of parasites per host wasp. In addition, we examined whether the reproductive conditions of post-hibernation solitary queens affected the cephalothorax width of female parasites. The widths of the female parasites were greater when the queens had less-developed ovaries. These results suggested that nutrient availability by female parasites depends on the host wasp and competition with conspecific individuals.
寄生虫在宿主体内的生长取决于宿主的营养状况。本研究调查了寄生于群居黄蜂的捻翅目寄生虫的体型是否受到包括宿主体型在内的几个关键因素的影响。我们在日本新潟用诱饵陷阱收集了三年，并评估了不同季节雌雄寄生虫的数量。总共收集了185只雌性寄生虫，并测量了它们的头胸部宽度。雌性寄生虫的宽度在不同季节之间没有统计学差异，与雌性宿主黄蜂的头部宽度呈正相关，但与每只宿主黄蜂体内的寄生虫数量呈负相关。此外，我们研究了冬眠后独居蜂后的生殖状况是否会影响雌性寄生虫的头胸部宽度。当蜂后的卵巢发育较差时，雌性寄生虫的宽度更大。这些结果表明，雌性寄生虫的营养获取取决于宿主黄蜂以及与同种个体的竞争。
