{"id":{"repo_id":"uiuc","oai_identifier":"oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/86479"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uiuc/oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/86479","repository":{"repo_id":"uiuc","name":"University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign","base_url":"https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh"},"display":{"title":"Habit Preferences and Fidelity in the Cotesia Flavipes Complex (Hymenoptera: Braconidae): Current Preferences and the Potential for Change Through Learning and Selection","abstract":"Knowing the host range of a biological control agent is crucial to increasing the probability of controlling a target pest, and to decreasing the possibility of injuring non-target hosts. Here I suggest that testing habitat preference can help predict host ranges of insect parasitoids, and I present the results from tests of three congeneric braconid parasitoids in the Cotesia flavipes complex. These wasps parasitize stemboring larvae (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae & Noctuidae) in grasses and have been used as biological control agents in sugar cane and maize. I show that each of the parasitoids has distinct responses to different grass types and that some grasses are preferred to others. Furthermore, I show that, for these three parasitoids, non-target hosts in non-grass habitats are unlikely to be affected by these parasitoids, but that non-target hosts in grasslands of concern might be at risk. I then examine two potential routes for change in the plant preferences of these parasitoids; learning and evolutionary change. I show that the hostplant of their larval host is unlikely to change the plant preferences of the adult wasp. Moreover, through an artificial selection regimen, I show that these wasps are unlikely to shift plant preferences through natural selection. Given my results, I argue that laboratory testing can yield a useful, and accurate picture of parasitoid behavior prior to release, and that this picture is unlikely to change after the parasitoid is released.","abstract_html":"Knowing the host range of a biological control agent is crucial to increasing the probability of controlling a target pest, and to decreasing the possibility of injuring non-target hosts. Here I suggest that testing habitat preference can help predict host ranges of insect parasitoids, and I present the results from tests of three congeneric braconid parasitoids in the Cotesia flavipes complex. These wasps parasitize stemboring larvae (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae & Noctuidae) in grasses and have been used as biological control agents in sugar cane and maize. I show that each of the parasitoids has distinct responses to different grass types and that some grasses are preferred to others. Furthermore, I show that, for these three parasitoids, non-target hosts in non-grass habitats are unlikely to be affected by these parasitoids, but that non-target hosts in grasslands of concern might be at risk. I then examine two potential routes for change in the plant preferences of these parasitoids; learning and evolutionary change. I show that the hostplant of their larval host is unlikely to change the plant preferences of the adult wasp. Moreover, through an artificial selection regimen, I show that these wasps are unlikely to shift plant preferences through natural selection. Given my results, I argue that laboratory testing can yield a useful, and accurate picture of parasitoid behavior prior to release, and that this picture is unlikely to change after the parasitoid is released.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Rutledge, Claire Elise"],"institution":"University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign","degree_name":"Ph.D.","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Entomology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Robert N. 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Here I suggest that testing habitat preference can help predict host ranges of insect parasitoids, and I present the results from tests of three congeneric braconid parasitoids in the Cotesia flavipes complex. These wasps parasitize stemboring larvae (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae & Noctuidae) in grasses and have been used as biological control agents in sugar cane and maize. I show that each of the parasitoids has distinct responses to different grass types and that some grasses are preferred to others. Furthermore, I show that, for these three parasitoids, non-target hosts in non-grass habitats are unlikely to be affected by these parasitoids, but that non-target hosts in grasslands of concern might be at risk. I then examine two potential routes for change in the plant preferences of these parasitoids; learning and evolutionary change. I show that the hostplant of their larval host is unlikely to change the plant preferences of the adult wasp. Moreover, through an artificial selection regimen, I show that these wasps are unlikely to shift plant preferences through natural selection. Given my results, I argue that laboratory testing can yield a useful, and accurate picture of parasitoid behavior prior to release, and that this picture is unlikely to change after the parasitoid is released.","Made available in DSpace on 2015-09-28T15:10:52Z (GMT). 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Furthermore, I show that, for these three parasitoids, non-target hosts in non-grass habitats are unlikely to be affected by these parasitoids, but that non-target hosts in grasslands of concern might be at risk. I then examine two potential routes for change in the plant preferences of these parasitoids; learning and evolutionary change. I show that the hostplant of their larval host is unlikely to change the plant preferences of the adult wasp. Moreover, through an artificial selection regimen, I show that these wasps are unlikely to shift plant preferences through natural selection. Given my results, I argue that laboratory testing can yield a useful, and accurate picture of parasitoid behavior prior to release, and that this picture is unlikely to change after the parasitoid is released.","Made available in DSpace on 2015-09-28T15:10:52Z (GMT). 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