Synergy in information use for mate finding: demonstration in a parasitoid wasp

Does Kin Recognition and Sib-Mating Avoidance Limit the Risk of Genetic Incompatibility in a Parasitic Wasp?

“…In the bumblebee B. terrestris , the diploid males produced by matched mating suffer reduced fertility [69] and reduces the survivorship of colonies in the field [70]. Such consequences are likely exacerbated in species that mate only once, as in V. canescens [25].…”

“…Virgin V. canescens females emit chemicals that in combination with host kairomones attract males. In turn, males do not attract virgin females at a distance [25]. Our knowledge of how mating partners encounter each other under field conditions is largely incomplete as a consequence of the small size of the species that renders observations difficult.…”

“…Courtship behaviours have been described in van Santen & Schneider [26] and females do not choose the male according to its size [27]. Like 80% of the studied parasitoid wasp species [28], V. canescens females are monandrous and thus only mate once in a lifetime [25]. Conversely, males can mate more than once (E. Desouhant pers.…”

In the Nick of Time: Males of the Parasitoid Wasp Pimpla disparis Respond to Semiochemicals from Emerging Mates

“…For example, males of the European beewolf, Philanthus triangulum, secrete sex pheromone from their mandibular gland that attracts females into their territory, which they cordon off to secure a harem (Herzner et al, 2007). Insects utilize both signals and cues in their search for prospective mates (Metzger et al, 2010). A cue refers to any kind of sensory information present in the environment (Ruxton and Schaefer, 2011), whereas a signal implies intent on the part of the sender (Wilson, 1975) and requires an active process.…”

“…This behavior implies that there exists some form of signaling or communication between DePas and adult males searching for them. The signal could be a pheromone, considering that pheromone-mediated communication is common within adult parasitic Hymenoptera (Hölldobler, 1984;Quicke, 1997;Ayasse et al, 2001;Metzger et al, 2010), and that both contact (Steiner et al, 2006;Ruther et al, 2011) and airborne female pheromones have been identified (e.g., Syvertsen et al, 1995, and references therein;DeLury et al, 1999;Krokos et al, 2001;Collatz et al, 2009;Nichols et al, 2010). If the P. disparis signal were a pheromone, males would be best able to pinpoint the emergence of a DePa if the pheromone changed in effectiveness over time.…”