Distribution of Progeny byCryptus inornatusPratt (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae)

Abstract

The results obtained in the experiments just described indicate that the discriminative ability of the female parasite operates to enable the parasite to distinguish between hosts which have been parasitized previously, not only by itself but by other members of the species, and perfectly health; hosts. If this were not the case, series in which the densities of the female parasite populations were high would have given results which were more nearly approximate to a random distribution of progeny among the available hosts. As we have seen, the tendency was for the parasite to avoid superparasitism under all conditions, i.e., to exercise a deliberate choice of hosts.