Individual level trade-offs and artifacts in the egg parasitoid Trichogramma carverae (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae)

Abstract

As is the case with many egg parasitoids, parasitism rates in Trichogramma spp. vary markedly among individuals. Here we test whether this individual variability in Trichogramma carverae (Oatman and Pinto) is associated with trade-offs between early and late reproduction and between early reproduction and life span. We also consider a recently postulated trade-off between an index of pro-ovigeny and life span. Early and late reproduction were positively correlated. To further test for a trade-off, wasps were subdivided into groups depending on their total reproductive output because any correlations among traits might have been masked when wasps produced only a few eggs. This led to correlat..