Semiochemical exploitation by two egg parasitoids,Trissolcus basalis and Trissolcus brochymenae (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae)

Chemo-orientation in egg parasitoids, a self-controlled movement in time and space, is led by volatile or substrate-borne chemicals distribution in the environment for purposes of locating host, food, mates and other resources. The perception of these chemical stimuli can be either from a distance by exploiting long-range infochemicals in the case of volatile chemoreception and/or upon contact with the cues when wasps are relatively close to the host in the case of contact chemo-reception by perceiving short-range infochemicals. In the present thesis, two different examples of chemo-orientation were treated. The first is an olfactory chemo-reception concerning Trissolcus basalis (Wollaston) and its perception of buckwheat plant volatiles whereas the second is a contact chemo-reception in Trissolcus brochymenae (Ashmead), which exploits its host footprints upon contact with the substrate.