Oviposition height increases parasitism success by the robber fly Mallophora ruficauda (Diptera: Asilidae)
For parasitoids, host finding is a central problem that has been solved through a variety of behavioural mechanisms. Among species in which females do not make direct contact with hosts, as is the case for many dipteran parasitoids, eggs must be laid in an appropriate part of the host habitat. The a...
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todo:paper_03405443_v61_n2_p231_Castelo2023-10-03T15:25:40Z Oviposition height increases parasitism success by the robber fly Mallophora ruficauda (Diptera: Asilidae) Castelo, M.K. Ney-Nifle, M. Corley, J.C. Bernstein, C. Asilidae Fitness Host location Oviposition Parasitism Parasitoid Superparasitism Wind dispersal analytical method behavioral response dispersal egg production fly habitat availability host specificity numerical model oviposition parasitism parasitoid Asilidae Coleoptera Diptera Mallophora ruficauda Scarabaeidae For parasitoids, host finding is a central problem that has been solved through a variety of behavioural mechanisms. Among species in which females do not make direct contact with hosts, as is the case for many dipteran parasitoids, eggs must be laid in an appropriate part of the host habitat. The asilid fly Mallophora ruficauda lays eggs in clusters on tall vegetation. Upon eclosion, pollen-sized larvae fall and parasitize soil-dwelling scarab beetle larvae. We hypothesized that wind dissemination of M. ruficauda larvae is important in the host-finding process and that females lay eggs at heights that maximize parasitism of its concealed host. Through numerical and analytical models resembling those used to describe seed and pollen wind dispersal, we estimated an optimal oviposition height in the 1.25- to 1.50-m range above the ground. Our models take into account host distribution, plant availability and the range over which parasitic larvae search for hosts. Supporting our findings, we found that the results of the models match heights at which egg clusters of M. ruficauda are found in the field. Generally, work on facilitation of host finding using plants focuses on plants as indicators of host presence. We present a case where plants are used in a different way, as a means of offspring dispersal. For parasitoids that carry out host searching at immature stages rather than as adults, plants are part of a dissemination mechanism of larvae that, as with minute seeds, uses wind and a set of simple rules of physics to increase offspring success. © 2006 Springer-Verlag 2006. JOUR info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ar http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_03405443_v61_n2_p231_Castelo |
| institution |
Universidad de Buenos Aires |
| institution_str |
I-28 |
| repository_str |
R-134 |
| collection |
Biblioteca Digital - Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (UBA) |
| topic |
Asilidae Fitness Host location Oviposition Parasitism Parasitoid Superparasitism Wind dispersal analytical method behavioral response dispersal egg production fly habitat availability host specificity numerical model oviposition parasitism parasitoid Asilidae Coleoptera Diptera Mallophora ruficauda Scarabaeidae |
| spellingShingle |
Asilidae Fitness Host location Oviposition Parasitism Parasitoid Superparasitism Wind dispersal analytical method behavioral response dispersal egg production fly habitat availability host specificity numerical model oviposition parasitism parasitoid Asilidae Coleoptera Diptera Mallophora ruficauda Scarabaeidae Castelo, M.K. Ney-Nifle, M. Corley, J.C. Bernstein, C. Oviposition height increases parasitism success by the robber fly Mallophora ruficauda (Diptera: Asilidae) |
| topic_facet |
Asilidae Fitness Host location Oviposition Parasitism Parasitoid Superparasitism Wind dispersal analytical method behavioral response dispersal egg production fly habitat availability host specificity numerical model oviposition parasitism parasitoid Asilidae Coleoptera Diptera Mallophora ruficauda Scarabaeidae |
| description |
For parasitoids, host finding is a central problem that has been solved through a variety of behavioural mechanisms. Among species in which females do not make direct contact with hosts, as is the case for many dipteran parasitoids, eggs must be laid in an appropriate part of the host habitat. The asilid fly Mallophora ruficauda lays eggs in clusters on tall vegetation. Upon eclosion, pollen-sized larvae fall and parasitize soil-dwelling scarab beetle larvae. We hypothesized that wind dissemination of M. ruficauda larvae is important in the host-finding process and that females lay eggs at heights that maximize parasitism of its concealed host. Through numerical and analytical models resembling those used to describe seed and pollen wind dispersal, we estimated an optimal oviposition height in the 1.25- to 1.50-m range above the ground. Our models take into account host distribution, plant availability and the range over which parasitic larvae search for hosts. Supporting our findings, we found that the results of the models match heights at which egg clusters of M. ruficauda are found in the field. Generally, work on facilitation of host finding using plants focuses on plants as indicators of host presence. We present a case where plants are used in a different way, as a means of offspring dispersal. For parasitoids that carry out host searching at immature stages rather than as adults, plants are part of a dissemination mechanism of larvae that, as with minute seeds, uses wind and a set of simple rules of physics to increase offspring success. © 2006 Springer-Verlag 2006. |
| format |
JOUR |
| author |
Castelo, M.K. Ney-Nifle, M. Corley, J.C. Bernstein, C. |
| author_facet |
Castelo, M.K. Ney-Nifle, M. Corley, J.C. Bernstein, C. |
| author_sort |
Castelo, M.K. |
| title |
Oviposition height increases parasitism success by the robber fly Mallophora ruficauda (Diptera: Asilidae) |
| title_short |
Oviposition height increases parasitism success by the robber fly Mallophora ruficauda (Diptera: Asilidae) |
| title_full |
Oviposition height increases parasitism success by the robber fly Mallophora ruficauda (Diptera: Asilidae) |
| title_fullStr |
Oviposition height increases parasitism success by the robber fly Mallophora ruficauda (Diptera: Asilidae) |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Oviposition height increases parasitism success by the robber fly Mallophora ruficauda (Diptera: Asilidae) |
| title_sort |
oviposition height increases parasitism success by the robber fly mallophora ruficauda (diptera: asilidae) |
| url |
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_03405443_v61_n2_p231_Castelo |
| work_keys_str_mv |
AT castelomk ovipositionheightincreasesparasitismsuccessbytherobberflymallophoraruficaudadipteraasilidae AT neyniflem ovipositionheightincreasesparasitismsuccessbytherobberflymallophoraruficaudadipteraasilidae AT corleyjc ovipositionheightincreasesparasitismsuccessbytherobberflymallophoraruficaudadipteraasilidae AT bernsteinc ovipositionheightincreasesparasitismsuccessbytherobberflymallophoraruficaudadipteraasilidae |
| _version_ |
1807324244233682944 |