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A study of the host relations of Halictophagus pontifex Fox (Strepsiptera), a parasite of Cercopidae (Hem., Aphrophorinae), in Uganda

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

D. J. Greathead
D. J. Greathead
Affiliation:
Commonwealth Institute of Biological Control, c/o Kawanda Research Station, P.O. Box 7065, Kampala, Uganda
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Extract

The relations of the Strepsipterous parasite Halictophagus pontifex Fox to seven species of its Cercopid (Aphrophorinae) hosts were studied at a grassland site in Uganda. Dissections of weekly samples of the Cercopids collected by sweeping showed that the duration of the life-cycle of H. pontifex is 30–40 days. The parasite is found only in adult hosts which can support as many individuals (up to 7) in Poophilus costalis (Wlk.) as can develop in the space available in the body cavity. Both the maximum number of parasites per host and the rate of parasitism are related to the volume of the host. Parasitism arrests development of the ovaries of female hosts; they may reproduce after emergence of male parasites but not after exhaustion of females because of reinfection by triungulins. Graphical and regression analysis of the population data (no. individuals/1 000 sweeps) show that, for P. costalis, parasitism by H. pontifex is density dependent and the chief regulating factor. Rainfall 58–64 days before sampling also was correlated with P. costalis density, but multiple regression analysis showed it to be insignificant.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Bulletin of Entomological Research , Volume 60 , Issue 1 , August 1970 , pp. 33 - 42
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1970

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