Reproductive activity and olfactory response of Lysiphlebus fabarum to the presence of an intraguild predator, Hippodamia variegata, in the host patches

In this study, the reproductive activity and olfactory response of the parasitoid wasp Lysiphlebus fabarum to the presence of an intraguild predator, the ladybird Hippodamia variegata,was investigated on the cotton aphid Aphis gossypii on cucumber plants. For this purpose, in addition to comparing the predator feeding of healthy and parasitized adult aphids, reproductive characteristics of the parasitoid wasp (percent parasitism, percent emergence, and sex ratio) were investigated in three different host patches, including those of only aphids alone, aphids with a female ladybird, and aphids with aphid carcasses. Moreover, the preference of the female wasps to these patches was determined using a Y-tube olfactometer. Ladybirds significantly preferred healthy aphids to previously parasitized ones (F2,27=12.53, P