Host location behavior of Cotesia plutellae Kurdjumov (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) in ambient and moderately elevated ozone in field conditions

In field O3-enrichment experiments increased herbivore densities have been reported, which could be due to negatively affected host location behavior of natural enemies. We addressed the impact of doubling background O3 on the host location of the parasitoid Cotesia plutellae by conducting 24-h trials in an open-air O3-fumigation system during two consecutive years. Two circles (radii 1.40 and 4.00 m) of Plutella xylostella-infested potted cabbage plants were placed in the O3 and ambient plots. Female wasps were released into each plot from the center, and observed 5 times over a 24-h period to assess their host location capability. Thereafter, plants were kept in laboratory conditions until larvae pupation to determine parasitism rates. No significant differences were detected between ambient and O3-enriched environments either in the number of wasps found in the field, or in the percentages of parasitized larvae. This suggests that moderately elevated O3 will not affect the behavior of this parasitoid.