Behavioral response of the parasitoid Lariophagus distinguendus (Forst) (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) to extracts from cocoons of Lasioderma serricorne Fab (Coleoptera anobiidae) and their effects on subsequent oviposition responses

Antennation and oviposition responses of the parasitoid Lariophagus distinguendus (Forst) females to water and organic solvent extracts from cocoons of Lasioderma serricorne Fab. were studied in the laboratory. A combination of water and methylene chloride extracts elicited the strongest antennation and probing responses. Responses increased with extract dose. Oviposition onto beetle pupae through artificial cocoons made from cellulose domes was studied as a function of prior experience of the wasps and of the presence of host cocoon extracts on the domes. Wasps that had oviposited into normal cocoons oviposited readily through domes that were treated with the water and methylene chloride extracts of cocoons, but untreated domes were ignored. Inexperienced naive wasps oviposited far less readily than experienced wasps. (C) 1996 Academic Press, Inc.