Host range limitation caused by incomplete host regulation in an aphid parasitoid

▶ Diaeretiella rapae is a polyphagous aphid parasitoid. ▶ Two strains of this parasitoid fail to develop in a registered host, the cherry oat aphid Rhopalosiphum padi. ▶ The parasitoid larval development is delayed in this host species compared to the two other tested aphid species. ▶ The impact on the host ovaries is delayed and fewer teratocytes are produced in R. padi. ▶ The development failure in R. padi seems to be linked to an incomplete host regulation leading to larval starvation.