Egg retention and dispersal activity in the parasitoid wasp, Trichogramma principium

Abstract

Effects of egg retention on movement and dispersal activity of Trichogramma principium (Hymenoptera, Trichogrammatidae) females were investigated under laboratory conditions. Individual females were observed during one minute in the absence of hosts. Movement activity and dispersal rate were estimated by the length of the track and by the distance from the start point, respectively. Before the test, all wasps during 2 – 4 days were presented with a possibility to parasitize a factitious laboratory host, Sitotroga cerealella Oliv. (Lepidoptera, Gelechiidae). Wasps that had parasitized before the test show significant reduction of spontaneous walking activity and dispersal rate when compared with females that refused to parasitize the non-preferred host (i.e. manifested egg retention). This effect cannot be considered as a direct arrestment reaction to the host because during the test period, no hosts were provided. Thus, egg retention results not only in temporal spread, but also in more intensive spatial dispersal of a group of simultaneously emerged females.