Herbivore species identity rather than diversity of the non‐host community determines foraging behaviour of the parasitoid wasp Cotesia glomerata

Extensive research has been conducted to reveal how species diversity affects ecosystem functions and services. Yet, consequences of diversity loss for ecosystems as a whole as well as for single community members are still difficult to predict. Arthropod communities typically are species‐rich, and their species interactions, such as those between herbivores and their predators or parasitoids, may be particularly sensitive to changes in community composition. Parasitoids forage for herbivorous hosts by using herbivore‐induced plant volatiles (indirect cues) and cues produced by their host (direct cues). However, in addition to hosts, non‐suitable herbivores are present in a parasitoid's environment which may complicate the foraging process for the parasitoid. Therefore, ecosystem changes in the diversity of herbivores may affect the foraging efficiency of parasitoids. The effect of herbivore diversity may be mediated by either species numbers per se, by specific species traits, or by both. To investigate how diversity and identity of non‐host herbivores influence the behaviour of parasitoids, we created environments with different levels of non‐host diversity. On individual plants in these environments, we complemented host herbivores with 1–4 non‐host herbivore species. We subsequently studied the behaviour of the gregarious endoparasitoid Cotesia glomerata L. (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) while foraging for its gregarious host Pieris brassicae L. (Lepidoptera: Pieridae). Neither non‐host species diversity nor non‐host identity influenced the preference of the parasitoid for herbivore‐infested plants. However, after landing on the plant, non‐host species identity did affect parasitoid behaviour, whereas non‐host diversity did not. One of the non‐host species, Trichoplusia ni Hübner (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), reduced the time the parasitoid spent on the plant as well as the number of hosts it parasitized. We conclude that non‐host herbivore species identity has a larger influence on C. glomerata foraging behaviour than non‐host species diversity. Our study shows the importance of species identity over species diversity in a multitrophic interaction of plants, herbivores, and parasitoids.

• Publication year

  2016

• Venue

  Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata

• Publication date

  2016-10-01

• Fields of study

  Biology, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1111/eea.12493
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Foraging behaviour of parasitoids in multi-herbivore communities

  2016cited by this paper
• Flexible parasitoid behaviour overcomes constraint resulting from position of host and nonhost herbivores

  2016cited by this paper
• Feeding guild of non-host community members affects host-foraging efficiency of a parasitic wasp.

  2016cited by this paper
• Impact of exotic insect herbivores on native tritrophic interactions: a case study of the African cotton leafworm, Spodoptera littoralis and insects associated with the field mustard Brassica rapa

  2015influential reference
• Food web persistence is enhanced by non-trophic interactions

  2015influential reference
• Ecological and evolutionary consequences of plant genotype diversity in a tri-trophic system

  2014cited by this paper
• Chemo-orientation responses in hymenopteran parasitoids induced by substrate-borne semiochemicals

  2014cited by this paper
• Alien interference: disruption of infochemical networks by invasive insect herbivores.

  2014influential reference
• Interactive prey and predator diversity effects drive consumption rates

  2014cited by this paper
• Caterpillar-induced plant volatiles remain a reliable signal for foraging wasps during dual attack with a plant pathogen or non-host insect herbivore.

  2014cited by this paper
• Plant interactions with multiple insect herbivores: from community to genes.

  2014cited by this paper
• Alien plants versus alien herbivores: does it matter who is non-native in a novel trophic interaction?

  2014cited by this paper
• Jasmonate and ethylene signaling mediate whitefly-induced interference with indirect plant defense in Arabidopsis thaliana.

  2013cited by this paper
• Identity effects dominate the impacts of multiple species extinctions on the functioning of complex food webs.

  2013influential reference
• Trophic complexity enhances ecosystem functioning in an aquatic detritus-based model system.

  2013cited by this paper
• Biodiversity and ecosystem stability: a synthesis of underlying mechanisms.

  2013cited by this paper
• Ecological and phytohormonal aspects of plant volatile emission in response to single and dual infestations with herbivores and phytopathogens

  2013cited by this paper
• 3 Foraging strategies of parasitoids in complex chemical environments

  2013cited by this paper
• Bottom-up effects of species diversity on the functioning and stability of food webs.

  2012cited by this paper
• The specificity of herbivore-induced plant volatiles in attracting herbivore enemies.

  2012cited by this paper
• Biodiversity loss and its impact on humanity

  2012influential reference
• Plant-mediated facilitation between a leaf-feeding and a phloem-feeding insect in a brassicaceous plant: from insect performance to gene transcription

  2012cited by this paper
• Plants under multiple herbivory: consequences for parasitoid search behaviour and foraging efficiency

  2012cited by this paper
• Recent Advances in Plant Early Signaling in Response to Herbivory

  2011cited by this paper
• The functional role of producer diversity in ecosystems.

  2011cited by this paper
• Ecological role of volatiles produced by plants in response to damage by herbivorous insects.

  2011cited by this paper
• Functional Structure of Biological Communities Predicts Ecosystem Multifunctionality

  2011influential reference
• Disentangling the Web of Life

  2009cited by this paper
• Chemical complexity of volatiles from plants induced by multiple attack.

  2009cited by this paper
• Decision-making dynamics in parasitoids of Drosophila.

  2009cited by this paper
• Species diversity modulates predation.

  2007influential reference
• The functional role of biodiversity in ecosystems: incorporating trophic complexity.

  2007cited by this paper
• Time allocation strategies in insect parasitoids: from ultimate predictions to proximate behavioral mechanisms

  2006cited by this paper
• Can plants betray the presence of multiple herbivore species to predators and parasitoids? The role of learning in phytochemical information networks

  2005cited by this paper
• The relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in food webs

  2005cited by this paper
• Linking foraging behavior to lifetime reproductive success for an insect parasitoid: adaptation to host distributions

  2003cited by this paper
• Information acquisition and time allocation in insect parasitoids

  2003cited by this paper
• Plant-mediated indirect effects and the persistence of parasitoid–herbivore communities

  2001influential reference
• Patch exploitation by the parasitoids Cotesia rubecula and Cotesia glomerata in multi‐patch environments with different host distributions

  1998influential reference
• Innate responses of the parasitoidsCotesia glomerata andC. rubecula (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) to volatiles from different plant-herbivore complexes

  1996cited by this paper
• Parasitoids: Behavioral and evolutionary ecology

  1994cited by this paper
• Volatiles from damaged plants as major cues in long‐range host‐searching by the specialist parasitoid Cotesia rubecula

  1994cited by this paper
• Ecology Of Infochemical Use By Natural Enemies In A Tritrophic Context

  1992cited by this paper
• Ecology of infochemical use by natural enemies in a tritrophic context.

  1992cited by this paper
• An allelochemical elicits arrestment inApanteles kariyai in feces of nonhost larvaeAcantholeucania loreyi

  1990cited by this paper

• Herbivory by multiple arthropods does not hinder the attraction of natural enemies to plant volatiles: insights from a meta-analysis.

  2025cites this paper
• Intraspecific plant variation and nonhost herbivores affect parasitoid host location behaviour

  2022cites this paper
• Floral Odors Can Interfere With the Foraging Behavior of Parasitoids Searching for Hosts

  2020cites this paper
• Gone with the wind: low availability of volatile information limits foraging efficiency in downwind-flying parasitoids

  2020cites this paper
• Getting confused: learning reduces parasitoid foraging efficiency in some environments with non-host-infested plants

  2019cites this paper
• Associative learning of host presence in non‐host environments influences parasitoid foraging

  2018cites this paper
• Understanding plant–arthropod interactions in multitrophic communities to improve conservation biological control: useful traits and metrics

  2018cites this paper
• Costs of Persisting Unreliable Memory: Reduced Foraging Efficiency for Free-Flying Parasitic Wasps in a Wind Tunnel

  2018cites this paper
• Herbivore-induced plant volatiles and tritrophic interactions: from local to landscape scale

  2018influential citation
• Herbivore‐induced plant volatiles and tritrophic interactions across spatial scales

  2017cites this paper
• Response of Brassica oleracea to temporal variation in attack by two herbivores affects preference and performance of a third herbivore

  2017cites this paper