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- Title
Parasitoid development and superparasitism in invasive versus native widow spider host egg sacs.
- Authors
Daniel, J. Alfred; Arabesky, Valeria; Rozenberg, Tamir; Lubin, Yael; Segoli, Michal; Mowery, Monica A.
- Abstract
The brown widow spider, Latrodectus geometricus, is a hazardous and highly invasive species globally. One of the suggested mechanisms enhancing this spider's invasiveness is lower susceptibility to natural enemies compared to other widow species. The parasitoid wasp, Philolema latrodecti, is known to attack egg sacs of L. geometricus, as well as those of other species of Latrodectus. Despite its potential importance as a natural enemy of L. geometricus, little is known about the development of this wasp and factors mediating its parasitism success. We investigated the development of this parasitoid in two widow spider host species, one native to Israel, the white widow, L. pallidus, and the invasive brown widow, L. geometricus. We compared wasp developmental success in egg sacs exposed to increasing wasp densities. We found increased wasp emergence and brood size, and smaller emerging wasp body size with increasing wasp density. Across all wasp densities, more and larger parasitoids developed in the egg sacs of the native host species, L. pallidus, compared to the invasive host species, L. geometricus. Parasitoid sex ratio was highly female-biased and the proportion of males increased with wasp density, suggesting local mate competition. Overall, our results suggest that L. pallidus is a better host for the egg sac parasitoid P. latrodecti, which could give a competitive advantage to the less-affected invasive brown widow spider.
- Subjects
ISRAEL; EGG cases (Zoology); WIDOWS; ANIMAL clutches; SPIDER venom; ANIMAL offspring sex ratio; BLACK widow spider; BODY size; INTRODUCED species
- Publication
Biological Invasions, 2023, Vol 25, Issue 8, p2519
- ISSN
1387-3547
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s10530-023-03052-0