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Male wing fanning by the aphid parasitoid Aphidius ervi (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) produces a courtship song

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 May 2011

C.A. Villagra ,
C.F. Pinto ,
M. Penna  and
H.M. Niemeyer
C.A. Villagra*
Affiliation:
Departamento de Ciencias Ecológicas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Casilla 653, Santiago, Chile
C.F. Pinto
Affiliation:
Departamento de Ciencias Ecológicas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Casilla 653, Santiago, Chile
M. Penna
Affiliation:
Programa de Fisiología y Biofísica, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile
H.M. Niemeyer*
Affiliation:
Departamento de Ciencias Ecológicas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Casilla 653, Santiago, Chile
*
*Authors for correspondence Fax: 562 9787445 E-mail: cavillagra@gmail.com, niemeyer@abulafia.ciencias.uchile.cl
*Authors for correspondence Fax: 562 9787445 E-mail: cavillagra@gmail.com, niemeyer@abulafia.ciencias.uchile.cl
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Abstract

We, herein, report evidence that wing fanning by the aphid parasitoid Aphidius ervi Haliday (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) constitutes a courtship song. Complete removal of the forewings or only the distal half of them reduced male copulation success in comparison to intact males. Males that achieved copulation within the observation period produced wing fanning at a higher rate than males that did not copulate. Playback of wing fanning sound altered the behaviour of virgin females, increasing the time they devoted to grooming, as compared with subjects that were exposed to silence or white noise. Our findings contribute to the understanding of the acoustic dimension of the sensory modalities employed by this aphid parasitoid in sexual signalling.

Keywords

wing fanningcourtship songaphid parasitoidcopulation behaviour
Type
Research Paper
Information
Bulletin of Entomological Research , Volume 101 , Issue 5 , October 2011 , pp. 573 - 579
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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