New mechanism of parasitoid wasps in avoiding intraspecific competition

Parasitic wasps are natural enemies for effective control over the population of pests in nature. Hence, they are extensively used as green agents of pest control in agriculture and forestry. There are a diversity of parasitic wasps, which have assorted parasitic habits. In general, parasitism can be divided into three types: solitary parasitism, gregarious parasitism and synparasitism. Superparasitism—two or more eggs being laid into a single host by one or more parasitoid females—usually leads to intraspecific or interspecific competition, which is thus a waste of parasitic resource. Superparasitism avoidance has captured immense attention among biologists both at home and abroad, but the underlying mechanism remains obscure.


Click here for original story, New mechanism of parasitoid wasps in avoiding intraspecific competition


Source: Phys.org