The use of visual cues in host evaluation by aphidiid wasps: I. Comparison between three Aphidius parasitoids of the pea aphid

Host evaluation behaviour was examined in three species of aphid parasitoids, Aphidius ervi Haliday, A. pisivorus Smith, and A. smithi Sharma & Subba Rao (Hymenoptera: Aphidiidae). Parasitoids were provided under laboratory conditions with three kinds of hosts representing two aphid species: (green) pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris), and green and pink colour morphs of the alfalfa aphid, Macrosiphum creelii Davis. Females of all three Aphidius species distinguished between aphids on the basis of colour, movement, and host species. Patterns of host acceptance by parasitoids were species‐specific. In A. ervi, host preference was the same in light and dark conditions: pea aphid > green alfalfa aphid „ pink alfalfa aphid. In contrast, A. pisivorus attacked and accepted pea aphid and green alfalfa aphid equally in the light and preferred both of these over pink alfalfa aphid; however, it made no distinction between pea aphid and pink alfalfa aphid in the dark. Females of A. smithi attacked all three kinds of hosts (pea aphid > green alfalfa aphid „ pink alfalfa aphid) but apparently laid eggs only in pea aphid. The frequencies of attack and oviposition by all wasps were higher on ‘normal’ pea aphids than on those anaesthetized with CO2. Host recognition is confirmed by chemical cues in the aphid cuticle that are detected during antennation, and host acceptance is dependent on an assessment of host quality during ovipositor probing.