Raw data for the analysis carried out in the article: Differential responses of body resource allocations of the parasitoid Cotesia flavipes (Hymenoptera, Braconidae) populations to altitude

Living at high altitudes impose physiological and ecological challenges where species may show changes in their body size, proportions, and shape. Despite the importance of this topic for understanding the origin of diversity, little attention has been invested in this phenomenon at the populational level. This dataset aims to study the relationship between altitude and body size, body proportions, and forewing shape venation of two populations of the parasitoid wasp Cotesia flavipes. Wasps were collected from Diatraea spp larvae from sugarcane crops in two Colombian mountain ranges between 600 m and 2143 m altitude. Linear measurements of different body regions and geometric morphometrics of the forewing were subject to multivariate comparisons and allometric analyses to assess variation and to compare trends between ranges. Central and Eastern Cordillera populations showed opposite trends in their relationships between body size and altitude. Allometric trends were not uniform within and between populations and between structures. The data from the single altitude suggested that the trends within cordilleras and the differences between them were a consequence of altitude and not the result of intrinsic body resource allocation processes. Wing shape between populations differed; however, these changes were poorly related to altitude. It is possible that the differences and patterns from our study resulted from plasticity; but even so, it could be evolutionarily significant as these responses could be selectively important, posteriorly promoting genetic differentiation.