Dispersal between host populations in field conditions: navigation rules in the parasitoid Venturia canescens.

E. Desouhant, G.J.J. Driessen, L. Lapchin, S. Wielaard, C. Bernstein

    Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

    Abstract

    1. Dispersal is a life-history trait that can have great ecological and evolutionary consequences, however understanding of how insects disperse is limited. 2. Navigation rules of the solitary koinobiont parasitoid of the pyralid moth larvae Venturia canescens (Gravenhorst) were studied in conditions that it is likely to meet when dispersing between host populations and in the absence of cues related directly to the presence of hosts. 3. Mark-release-recapture experiments were conducted in a natural host-free habitat, and letting the animals disperse for different periods. 4. In the presence of vegetation, wasps seemed to disperse rapidly (1 h for an area of ≥ 1 ha) and capture rates were independent of both dispersal time and distance from the release point. 5. The navigation rules of V. canescens during dispersal between tree stands can be summarised as: move up- or down-wind, avoid or pass through open, sunny areas, and go for shady and dense vegetation. 6. The consequences of the navigation rules for host-parasitoid dynamics are discussed in relation to different spatial scales.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)257-267
    JournalEcological Entomology
    Volume28
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2003

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