Host exploitation behavior in two hyperparasitoids, Lysibia nana and Gelis agilis, was compared in single cocoon clusters of their primary parasitoid host, Cotesia glomerata. L. nana reproduces sexually, is fully winged, does not host-feed and matures eggs quite rapidly after eclosion, whereas G. agilis possesses opposite traits. Cohorts of individual hyperparasitoid females of differing age and physiological state were given access to single cocoon clusters of C. glomerata that also varied in age. These results reveal that the reproductive biology of L. nana is well matched to exploit cocoon broods in C. glomerata, suggesting strong a co-evolutionary history with this host. By contrast, G. agilis is much less efficient at exploiting host cocoons and is probably a generalist species that attacks other hosts in nature.

中文翻译：

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两种超寄生蜂的宿主利用效率不同：什么时候是“天作之合”？


两种超寄生蜂（Lysibia nana 和 Gelis agilis）的寄主剥削行为在其主要寄生蜂寄主 Cotesia glomerata 的单个茧簇中进行了比较。 L. nana 有性繁殖，全翅，不以寄主为食，羽化后卵很快成熟，而 G. agilis 则具有相反的特征。不同年龄和生理状态的个体超寄生雌性群体被允许接触年龄也不同的 C. glomerata 的单个茧簇。这些结果表明，L. nana 的生殖生物学与利用 C. glomerata 中的茧巢非常匹配，表明与该宿主具有很强的共同进化历史。相比之下，G. agilis 在利用宿主茧方面的效率要低得多，并且可能是攻击自然界中其他宿主的多面性物种。