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Rythmes d'activité locomotrice chez deux insectes parasitoïdes sympatriques : Eupelmus orientalis et Eupelmus vuilleti (Hyménoptère, Eupelmidae)

2006; Elsevier BV; Volume: 329; Issue: 7 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.crvi.2006.01.011

1768-3238

Auguste Ndoutoume-Ndong, Danielle Rojas-Rousse, Roland Allemand,

Hymenoptera taxonomy and phylogeny

With an automatic image analysis device, we studied the temporal distribution of the locomotor activity of E. orientalis and E. vuilleti during 24 h, and over several days to know whether the activity rhythms of these two Eupelmidae play a role in their competitive interactions. The analysis of locomotor activity rhythms of E. orientalis and E. vuilleti shows that the locomotor activity of both species presents daily cyclic variations. These two Eupelmidae have similar activity rhythms. Displacements of these parasitoids essentially take place during the photophase. But the activity of E. vuilleti is earlier, because the individuals of this species start their activity on average 4 to 5 h earlier than those of E. orientalis. E. vuilleti begins its displacements several hours before the onset of lighting, whereas E. orientalis is active only in the presence of the light. This shift of starting activity is thus a factor allowing these concurrent species to minimize their interactions during the cohabitation period in traditional granaries after the harvests of cowpea.