Spatial and temporal diversity in hyperparasitoid communities of Cotesia glomerata on garlic mustard, Alliaria petiolata

1. Interactions between two trophic levels can be very intimate, often making species dependent on each other, something that increases with specialisation. Some specialised multivoltine herbivores may depend on multiple plant species for their survival over the course of a growing season, especially if their food plants are short‐lived and grow at different times. Later generations may exploit different plant species from those exploited by previous generations. 2. Multivoltine parasitoids as well as their natural enemies must also find their hosts on different food plants in different habitats across the season. Secondary hyperparasitoid communities have been studied on cocoons of the primary parasitoid, Cotesia glomerata (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), on black mustard (Brassica nigra) – a major food plant of its host, the large cabbage white (Pieris brassicae) – which grows in mid‐summer. 3. Here, hyperparasitoid communities on C. glomerata pupal clusters were studied on an early‐season ...