Data for: Oviposition fluids mediate larval competition

Parasitoid wasp larvae engage in intense interspecific competition when sharing a host insect, with lethal consequences for the losers. Larval parasitoid competition is generally thought to be resolved by physical traits, such as enlarged mandibles. Although solitary parasitoid larvae are typically superior competitors against gregarious larvae, such physical traits are unlikely to be effective against large numbers of competitors. Larval competition may instead be mediated by maternal factors that increase the survival of offspring facing interspecific competition, thus increasing parental fitness.
When laying eggs inside a host, many female parasitoids also inject oviposition fluids that are known to suppress host immune responses, permitting successful offspring development. We explored whether the oviposition fluids of two wasp species in the genus Cotesia (Cotesia rubecula, a strong competitor that almost always wins interspecific competition against a weaker competitor, Cotesia gl...

寄生蜂（Parasitoid wasp）幼虫在共享寄主昆虫时会爆发激烈的种间竞争，失败者将面临致死性后果。学界普遍认为，寄生蜂幼虫的种间竞争通常由物理性状（如大型颚（enlarged mandibles））介导。尽管独居型寄生蜂幼虫通常相较于群居型幼虫更具竞争优势，但这类物理性状难以对抗大量竞争者。因此，幼虫间的竞争或可通过母源因子（maternal factors）调控：此类因子可提升面临种间竞争的子代存活率，进而提升亲本适合度（parental fitness）。
当将卵产入寄主体内时，多数雌性寄生蜂还会注入产卵液（oviposition fluids），这类液体已知可抑制寄主免疫反应（host immune responses），保障子代成功发育。本研究探讨了绒茧蜂属（Cotesia）的两个蜂种——菜粉蝶绒茧蜂（Cotesia rubecula，作为强势竞争者，几乎总能在与弱势竞争者Cotesia gl...的种间竞争中获胜——的产卵液是否具备此类调控作用。