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We evaluated the host suitability and related traits of Trichoplusia ni Hübner (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and Chrysodeixis chalcites Esper (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), which is nonnative in North America, for the native parasitoids Campoletis sonorensis Cameron (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) and Copidosoma floridanum Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), and the nonnative parasitoid Cotesia vanessae Reinhard (Hymenoptera: Braconidae). For the larval parasitoid C. sonorensis and C. vanessae trials, three-day-old larvae of both hosts were used, whereas one-day-old eggs of both hosts were used for the egg–larval parasitoid C. floridanum trial. For suitability parameters on each host exposed separately to each of the three parasitoid species, we measured parasitoid emergence (parasitoid success), parasitoids that did not emerge (parasitoid cocoon mortality), the proportion of male offspring (parasitoid sex ratio), hosts that developed into moths (host success), hosts that died without developing into moths or producing a parasitoid (host mortality), parasitoids emerging from cocoon masses (brood size), and the developmental times of parasitoids and hosts. For C. sonorensis, the native host and the nonnative host were found to be similarly suitable. For C. vanessae, the native host was more suitable than the nonnative host. For C. floridanum, the native host was suitable, whereas the nonnative host was not; however, sublethal effects on both the native and nonnative hosts were observed. The differential suitability of the hosts observed in this study contributes to the understanding of this measure as a dynamic factor in the expansion of parasitoids into novel host species.

La expansión del rango de insectos hospederos nativos a no-nativos por parasitoides es un proceso ecológico común mediado por múltiples factores. Los recursos dentro y entre los niveles tróficos, interactúan para mediar la expansión del rango de hospederos de los parasitoides nativos cuando especies de hospederos invasores están presentes. Las interacciones tróficas y las condiciones ambientales determinan la estructura de las redes alimentarias y la expansión del rango de hospederos de los parasitoides a los nuevos hospederos. El objetivo de esta investigación es definir cuáles son las interacciones y los mecanismos mostrados por endoparasitoides generalistas nativos que les permiten adaptarse a hospederes invasores (expansión del rango de hospederos) dentro de una red alimenticia de especies de Lepidoptera Noctuidae Plusiinae en cultivos hortícolas en condiciones de campo e invernadero en el sudoeste de Ontario, Canadá. En este estudio, investigamos diferentes aspectos sobre: (1) las interacciones de la red alimenticia planta-insecto-parasitoide, específicamente el efecto de los recursos tróficos y los factores ambientales sobre la presencia de los parasitoides que expandieron su rango de hospederos después de la invasión de Chrysodeixis chalcites (Esper) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae); (2) la capacidad hospedante del hospedero nativo Trichoplusia ni (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) y el hospedero no-nativo C. chalcites para los parasitoides nativos Campoletis sonorensis (Cameron) (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) y Copidosoma floridanum (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) y para el parasitoide no-nativo Cotesia vanessae (Reinhard) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae); y (3) si el comportamiento de forrajeo de los parasitoides en respuesta a la abundancia de diferentes especies nativas y no-nativas de hospederos a las que están expuestos, es un factor mediador en la expansion del rango de hospederos. Investigamos los niveles de parasitismo, la respuesta funcional y el comportamiento d

Host range expansion by parasitoids into a non-native host is a common ecological process in nature mediated by multiple factors. Here, we addressed whether foraging behaviour responses of parasitoids to the abundance of the different host species to which they are exposed is one mediating factor. We investigate the parasitism levels, the functional response and the switching behaviour of two strains of the larval parasitoid Campoletis sonorensis (Cameron) (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) exposed to different patch densities and host ratios of the native host Trichoplusia ni (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and the non-native Chrysodeixis chalcites (Esper) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). With a few exceptions, the parasitism levels were similar on both hosts. Both strains of the parasitoid demonstrated a Type III functional response with parasitism level positively related to increasing host abundance. The switching response was positive for both strains of C. sonorensis when both species of hosts are present in the same host patch. Yet a switching response was demonstrated whereby the parasitised proportion of each host at each patch changed depending on host ratio, mediated by their preference for C. chalcites. The results of this study indicate that the foraging behaviour responses of C. sonorensis to the abundance of the host T. ni are factors mediating its host range expansion from the native T. ni to the non-native C. chalcites.

Trophic interactions and environmental conditions determine the structure of food webs and the host expansion of parasitoids into novel insect hosts. In this study, we investigate plant–insect–parasitoid food web interactions, specifically the effect of trophic resources and environmental factors on the presence of the parasitoids expanding their host range after the invasion of Chrysodeixis chalcites (Esper) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). We also consider potential candidates for biological control of this non‐native pest. A survey of larval stages of Plusiinae (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and their larval parasitoids was conducted in field and vegetable greenhouse crops in 2009 and 2010 in various locations of Essex and Chatham‐Kent counties in Ontario, Canada. Twenty‐one plant–host insect–host parasitoid associations were observed among Trichoplusia ni (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), C. chalcites, and larval parasitoids in three trophic levels of interaction. Chrysodeixis chalcites, an old‐world species that had just arrived in the region, was the most common in our samples. The larval parasitoids Campoletis sonorensis (Cameron) (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae), Cotesia vanessae (Reinhard), Cotesia sp., Microplitis alaskensis (Ashmead), and Meteorus rubens (Nees) (all Hymenoptera: Braconidae) expanded their host range into C. chalcites changing the structure of the food web. Copidosoma floridanum (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) was the most common parasitoid of T. ni that was not found in the invasive species. Plant species, host abundance, and agro‐ecosystem were the most common predictors for the presence of the parasitoids expanding their host range into C. chalcites. Our results indicate that C. sonorensis, C. vanessae, and C. floridanum should be evaluated for their potential use in biological control of C. chalcites and T. ni.