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Hydrocarbon Signatures of the Ectoparasitoid Sphecophaga vesparum Shows Wasp Host Dependency

Sphecophaga vesparum often parasitizes nests of vespid wasps such as Vespula vulgaris and Vespula germanica. Inside the colonies, the ectoparasitic larvae feed on the immature forms of the wasps. There are two adult forms of S. vesparum. The large, winged adults emerge from either rigid yellow cocoo...

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Autores principales: Oi, Cintia Akemi, Brown, Robert L., Stevens, Ian, Wenseleers, Tom
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7290573/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32353966
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/insects11050268
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author Oi, Cintia Akemi
Brown, Robert L.
Stevens, Ian
Wenseleers, Tom
author_facet Oi, Cintia Akemi
Brown, Robert L.
Stevens, Ian
Wenseleers, Tom
author_sort Oi, Cintia Akemi
collection PubMed
description Sphecophaga vesparum often parasitizes nests of vespid wasps such as Vespula vulgaris and Vespula germanica. Inside the colonies, the ectoparasitic larvae feed on the immature forms of the wasps. There are two adult forms of S. vesparum. The large, winged adults emerge from either rigid yellow cocoons or the orange cocoons used for overwintering. The small, brachypterous females emerge from soft, white cocoons. The species is facultative deuterotokous, producing mostly parthenogenic females and infrequently producing males. Here, we describe the production of chemical compounds related to the different developmental forms of the parasitoid S. vesparum (larvae, pupae and adults). We also compare the chemical profiles of the parasitoid wasp adults to those of their two main host species, Vespula vulgaris and Vespula germanica. The results show differences in hydrocarbon composition of larvae, pupae and adults of S. vesparum. Our results also suggest a partial mimicry of each of the two host species, mostly relating to linear alkanes present in both parasitoids and the host vespid wasp species. This matching is likely due to the recycling of the prey’s hydrocarbons, as has been found in other species of parasitoids.
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spelling pubmed-72905732020-06-17 Hydrocarbon Signatures of the Ectoparasitoid Sphecophaga vesparum Shows Wasp Host Dependency Oi, Cintia Akemi Brown, Robert L. Stevens, Ian Wenseleers, Tom Insects Article Sphecophaga vesparum often parasitizes nests of vespid wasps such as Vespula vulgaris and Vespula germanica. Inside the colonies, the ectoparasitic larvae feed on the immature forms of the wasps. There are two adult forms of S. vesparum. The large, winged adults emerge from either rigid yellow cocoons or the orange cocoons used for overwintering. The small, brachypterous females emerge from soft, white cocoons. The species is facultative deuterotokous, producing mostly parthenogenic females and infrequently producing males. Here, we describe the production of chemical compounds related to the different developmental forms of the parasitoid S. vesparum (larvae, pupae and adults). We also compare the chemical profiles of the parasitoid wasp adults to those of their two main host species, Vespula vulgaris and Vespula germanica. The results show differences in hydrocarbon composition of larvae, pupae and adults of S. vesparum. Our results also suggest a partial mimicry of each of the two host species, mostly relating to linear alkanes present in both parasitoids and the host vespid wasp species. This matching is likely due to the recycling of the prey’s hydrocarbons, as has been found in other species of parasitoids. MDPI 2020-04-28 /pmc/articles/PMC7290573/ /pubmed/32353966 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/insects11050268 Text en © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Oi, Cintia Akemi
Brown, Robert L.
Stevens, Ian
Wenseleers, Tom
Hydrocarbon Signatures of the Ectoparasitoid Sphecophaga vesparum Shows Wasp Host Dependency
title Hydrocarbon Signatures of the Ectoparasitoid Sphecophaga vesparum Shows Wasp Host Dependency
title_full Hydrocarbon Signatures of the Ectoparasitoid Sphecophaga vesparum Shows Wasp Host Dependency
title_fullStr Hydrocarbon Signatures of the Ectoparasitoid Sphecophaga vesparum Shows Wasp Host Dependency
title_full_unstemmed Hydrocarbon Signatures of the Ectoparasitoid Sphecophaga vesparum Shows Wasp Host Dependency
title_short Hydrocarbon Signatures of the Ectoparasitoid Sphecophaga vesparum Shows Wasp Host Dependency
title_sort hydrocarbon signatures of the ectoparasitoid sphecophaga vesparum shows wasp host dependency
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7290573/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32353966
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/insects11050268
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