Aphytis melinus

Aphytis melinus. citrus and, 73 Apis mellifera. See Honeybees Apium graveolens var. dulce. See Celery... 

Host recognition by parasitic Hymenoptera also can be a complex process involving a series of behaviors after initial host contact that must be completed in sequence before an egg is laid. One such sequence is illustrated in Figure 5.7, which diagrams the processes by which Aphytis melinus, a parasitoid used for biological control of California red scale, Aonidiella aurantii, first identifies a potential scale insect species as a potentially suitable host, then assesses the individual quality of that host for utilization (Luck et al. 1982). Egg deposition is the final event of a chain of other behaviors that must be completed in sequence. The series can be broken in several placed and restarted, but no steps can be skipped. 

Figure 5.7. The behavioral sequence exhibited by Aphytis melinus during oviposition. Reprinted from Luck et al. (1982) with permission.

Figure 5.8. Schematic diagram of a bioassay arena made of Plexiglas and microscope slides for Aphytis melinus. The parasitoid is introduced into the hole in the top slide, which is then stoppered for the duration of the bioassay. Reprinted from Luck et al. (1982) with permission.

Figure 5.9. Aphytis melinus probing a filter paper disk treated with O-caffeoyltyrosine extracted from covers of California red scale.

Millar, J.G. J.D. Hare. 1993. Identification and synthesis of a kairomone inducing oviposition by parasitoid Aphytis melinus from California red scale covers. J. Chem. Ecol. 19 1721-1736. 

Luck, R. F. and H. Podoler, 1985, Competitive displacement of Aphytis lignanesis by melinus the role of host size and female progeny production. Ecology 66 904-913. 

The potential range of chemical cues used by related Aphytis species may be quite broad. Although A. melinus utilizes relatively polar cues for host recognition, oviposition behavior of Aphytis yanonensis is elicited by chloroform-soluble, relatively nonpolar esters of high molecular weight (26-35 carbon atoms) acids... 

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