Abstract
The aphid parasitoid,Aphidius ervi Haliday, overwinters in larval diapause. The possibility that the parasitoid might prefer sexual (oviparae) rather than asexual females (virginoparae) as overwintering hosts (oviparae predominate in autumn when host numbers are generally declining) was tested by comparing these aphid morphs as potential hosts. Two host species were also examined, the pea aphid,Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris), and the blackberry aphid,Sitobion fragariae (Walker). The parasitoids took longer to develop inS. fragariae than inA. pisum but the development of non-diapausingA. ervi was similar in sexual and asexual females. This observation, together with the greater variation in the duration of the different parasitoid stadia inS. fragariae, indicated that the parasitoid is specialized on the pea aphid.
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