Patch Time Allocation by a Parasitoid: The Influence of Con-specifics, Host Abundance and Distance to the Patch

Abstract

Patch residence time is at the core of models of decision making by foragers living in patchy environments. We studied patch residence time (PRT) of I. leucospoides, a parasitoid of the woodwasp Sirex noctilio, as assigned to 4 treatments (recent feeding and/or oviposition experience) foraging in an array of host-infested pine logs. We tested the effects of distance from release point, host abundance, and the number of con-specifics at the time of arrival, on patch (pine log) residence time. These findings are in line with the reported pro-ovigeny in I. leucospoides as well as the strong spatial aggregation of hosts in the field.