Let the most motivated win: resource value components affect contest outcome in a parasitoid wasp

Abstract

Motivation will lead to victory. In the solitary parasitoid wasp Eupelmus vuilleti, females fight to access the larval and pupal stages of their hosts, on which they feed and lay eggs. Wasps’ aggressiveness and winning probability during contests varied according to their number of ready-to-lay eggs, their previous habitat quality, and the host stage during fights. Mothers benefit from their behavior strategies because offspring fitness depends on the host stage on which they developed.