Scoliid wasps are ectoparasitoids that attack soil-dwelling scarabaeid larvae, and little is known about their host-searching behavior. In this study we investigated the cues used in host location by Campsomeriella annulata (Fabricius) and examined whether or not these wasps can detect hosts in the soil from the surface. In a dual-choice test with a Y-tube, female wasps were attracted to sand with host odor, sand with host feces, and sand used for rearing the host, the larvae of Anomala rufocuprea Motschulsky (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). In a dual-choice test for cues presented at a distance, the wasps did not discriminate between the Y-tube arms with and without cues. In an experimental arena in which host products and a host grub were buried 0.5 cm below the surface the wasps did not respond to the cues from the surface in terms of the burrowing frequencies and antennal tapping rates. Our results indicate that C. annulata searches for the host grubs by using kairomones, residual cuticular substances, or feces deposited in the soil as the grubs move through it, and that wasps cannot perceive the host in the soil from the surface. We discuss how scoliid wasps search for soil-dwelling hosts using cues that are reliable but not highly detectable.

The spatial and temporal distributions of scoliid wasps in the coastal sand dunes at Hakoishi, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan, were investigated using three different sampling methods in 2002 and 2003. Of eight scoliid species collected in the present study, five species, Scolia historionica, Campsomeriella annulata, Scolia decorata, Scolia oculata, and Megacampsomeris schulthessi, were dominant. The flying insects caught by Malaise traps and flower-visiting insects caught by insect nets were mostly males, and this biased pattern was due to the active mate-searching behavior of male wasps and their frequent visits to flowers to supplement energy consumed by such behavior. Given that the ground traps caught females exclusively, female wasps seemed to actively engage in host-searching behavior on and below the ground. Of the wasps caught by Malaise traps and flower-visit sampling, five dominant species showed spatially different habitat use: S. historionica and C. annulata mainly occupied the grassland zone on the plain (Gp), S. decorata occupied the grassland zone on the terrace (Gt) and the forest zone (Fp), S. oculata occupied the small scrub zone on the plain (Sp), and M. schulthessi occupied the small scrub zone on the terrace (St). Ground trap samples also indicated that S. historionica and C. annulata shared habitats. On the basis of the observed seasonal changes in wasp abundance and the degree of wing wear as an index of wasp age, S. historionica and C. annulata are thought to be bivoltine species, whereas S. decorata, S. oculata, and M. schulthessi are thought to be univoltine species. These scoliid wasp species may play an important role in pollinating coastal plants in the grassland zone.

Avaliou-se o efeito da temperatura no parasitismo de Trichogramma pretiosum Riley, 1879 sobre ovos de Sitotroga cerealella (Olivier, 1819), para sua utilização em criações massais e/ou para o controle biológico desta traça de grãos armazenados. Os parasitóides foram mantidos sob as temperaturas de 18, 20, 22, 25, 30 e 32°C, durante 48 horas, com umidade relativa de 60±10% e fotofase de 14 horas, em todas as condições. O parasitismo foi avaliado pela contagem do número de ovos pretos (característica do parasitismo) e pelo número de parasitóides emergidos. As altas temperaturas foram favoráveis ao desempenho de T. pretiosum que, a 30°C teve 97,6% das fêmeas parasitando, com uma média de 18,8 ovos parasitados em 48 horas e com uma viabilidade de 88,5%.