Abstract
We measured the relation between search rate of Microplitis croceipes (Cresson) and density of third instars of its hosts, Heliothis zea (Boddie) and Heliothis virescens (F.). We released wasps in field cages containing various densities of host larvae on wild host plants (chiefly Geranium dissectum L.) in spring and on cotton ( Gossypium hirsutum L.) in summer. Number of Heliothis spp. larvae parasitized increased linearly over the range of host densities used. Such responses may be more common than has recently been assumed. A simple search model first proposed by Nicholson & Bailey (1935) fit the data well. Search rate was 0.20 ± 0.03 m2 per day (mean ± SE) in spring and 0.55 ± 0.04 to 0.87 ± 0.09 m2 per day in summer. Neither air temperature nor host-plant size explained these differences completely.
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