ADDING PHYSIOLOGICAL REALISM TO DYNAMIC STATE-VARIABLE MODELS OF PARASITOID HOST FEEDING

The behavioural decisions of insect parasitoids have been the subject of dynamic state variable models, which explicitly incorporate the phy siological state of the parasitoid, e.g. her age and 'egg load' (numbe r of mature eggs). Such models have been most recently applied to para sitoid 'host feeding', the consumption of host body fluids or tissues by the adult female wasp. The models developed to date, and recent emp irical work with Aphytis melinus, have highlighted the importance of t he physiology associated with host feeding to the behavioural decision whether to host feed or oviposit. Below, I develop a new dynamic stat e variable model which incorporates the physiological features associa ted with host feeding in Aphytis. My intention is to make qualitative predictions about the effects of various physiological featues on host -feeding behaviour and to make quantitative predictions about the rela tionship between egg load and host feeding in Aphytis.