Spatial and temporal aspects of the relationships between Latibulus argiolus (Rossi) (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) parasitoid and the resocial host wasp Polistes nimpha (Christ) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)

Abstract

The observations have shown that under the conditions of the Proval‘skaya steppe of the Lugansk nature reserve females of the first generation of parasitoid Latibulus argiolus display a behavioral response to the distribution of the host, the resocial wasp Polistes nimpha. L. argiolus females concentrate their searching activity on the sites with a high host colony density, and their distribution depends on the nest size. When the parasitoid number increases, they start parasitizing the host earlier, sometimes even before worker emergence. The density-dependent behavioral response observed in the nature is conditioned in the first place by the influence of the numerical response component since when the parasitoid number increases, they start parasitizing the host earlier, sometimes even before worker emergence.