Potential Fecundity of a Highly Invasive Gall Maker, Dryocosmus kuriphilus (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae)

摘要: Fecundity is a key factor in modulating population growth rate, and of particular significance when considering the invasiveness introduced species. In insects, fecundity affected by body size, age, nutrition. We investigated potential invasive Asian chestnut gall wasp Dryocosmus kuriphilus Yasumatsu (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae), an parthenogenetic former origin global pest (Castanea spp.), to better understand its invasiveness. compared ovarian, egg, metrics adult wasps different age. evaluated insect weight, length, mesosomal metasomal lengths widths, hind femur number eggs, size eggs from four age cohorts. Adult weight width were positively correlated with eggs. Egg load decreased egg initially increased before decreasing. Our findings suggest that D. kuriphilus, previously reported as proovigenic, may be resorping absence suitable hosts, reallocating nutritive resources for maintenance quality increase fitness, implicating plasticity reproductive strategy. able vary response nutrition host availability, thus increasing