Data from: Towards a general perspective on life-history evolution and diversification in parasitoid wasps

In attempting to explain the marked interspecific variation evident in
many components of life-history in parasitoid wasps, biologists have
sought to identify general predictors of suites of ‘important’
life-history traits. Two predictors currently in general use are: (1) the
parasitoid mode of larval development in relation to future host growth
and development [no further host growth and development (= idiobiosis)
versus continued host growth and development (= koinobiosis)]; and (2) the
ovigeny index (the degree to which the lifetime potential complement of
eggs is mature at the start of adult life in females). These have been
postulated to share several life-history correlates, and an earlier
comparative analysis showed the predictors to be associated. Two questions
are thus posed: which life-history variables are actually common to both
idio/koinobiosis and the ovigeny index, and which are responsible for the
link between these two axes of life-history diversity? Through comparative
analyses of a database of life-history traits for 133 parasitoid wasp
species, four life-history correlates out of the 11 we investigated are
shown to account for the association between the two predictors: the
relative level of resource investment per egg (degree of yolk richness,
which is lower in koinobionts), pre-adult lifespan (longer in
koinobionts), female lifespan (shorter in koinobionts), and maximum egg
load (larger in koinobionts). Our findings pave the way for full
integration of the dichotomous hypothesis with the ovigeny index
hypothesis, to provide a holistic perspective on parasitoid wasp
life-history diversity and evolution.