Factors influencing the evolution of clutch size in a gregarious insect parasitoid

Abstract

Summary 1. In this study we examined the clutch size of Hyssopus pallidus (Askew) (Hymenoptera, Eulophidae), a gregarious ectoparasitoid of codling moth (Lepidoptera, Tortricidae) larvae that is characterized by a host handling time of 2 days approximately. 2. Clutch size increased asymptotically with host larval size (fresh weight) to a maximum of 32 eggs. A single male developed from each clutch, brood survival was 83% and pupal size of female offspring was 0·45 mg, all independent of clutch size. 3. A comparison of the response of both experienced and naïve adult parasitoids to varying host larval size, indicated that experience was not necessary for H. pallidus to be able to accurately estimate host size. 4. Clutch size increased by 50% for medium size host larvae (30–40 mg) and 83% for large host larvae (60–76 mg) when the encounter rate was reduced from one host every second day to one every seventh day. A significantly lower clutch size was produced on the last day at the highest encounter rate for large host larvae, suggesting exhaustion of the egg supply for H. pallidus. 5. Manipulation of parasitoid clutch size on constant size host larvae did not influence sex ratio (single male) or brood survival (93%), but produced a linear trade‐off between clutch size and the size (fresh weight) of female pupae. Longevity, lifetime fecundity, total number of hosts attacked, and clutch size all increased linearly with the adult size (female pupal weight). 6. The observed clutch size in newly emerged H. pallidus is consistent with a strategy of maximizing lifetime fitness gain rather than the gain from individual hosts (Lack clutch size) despite a significant investment in the time required to attack each host.