Influence of plant allelochemicals on the tobacco hornworm and its parasitoid, Cotesia congregata

Abstract

Evaluated the development rate, size and survival of Cotesia congregata when reared from Manduca sexta fed on diets containing either nicotine, rutin or hordenine. Results were compared to the effects of the same three chemicals on unparasitized M. sexta. In general, the effects of these allelochemicals on thoe parasitoid paralleled those on the unparasitized hornworm. The one major exception was that concentrations of nicotine that had little or no effect on the hornworm caused significant mortality of parasitoids. -from Authors