Effects of host size, maternal state, and developmental time on the adult size in a parasitoid

<p><span>Body size is a crucial characteristic of many animal species </span><span>because</span><span> it affects many fitness-related traits. Parasitoids </span><span>are important insects that </span><span>are </span><span>well-known biological control agents of pests</span><span>,</span><span> and</span><span> it is favourable to obtain larger parasitoids </span><span>that increase</span><span> fitness and </span><span>benefit</span><span> wild application. Host size is thought </span><span>to</span><span> </span><span>be </span><span>one of the most crucial factors influencing the body size and </span><span>has </span><span>received </span><span>wide</span><span>spread attention. Here, in </span><span>an egg parasitoid</span><em><span> </span></em><em><span>Anastatus disparis</span></em><span>, we found</span><span> that </span><span>the </span><span>body size of<em> </em>female significantly increased with </span><span>increasing</span><span> host size, while host size </span><span>did</span><span> not significantly affect </span><span>male</span><span> body size. </span><span>In addition to the widely known factor of host size</span><span>, both female and male offspring size significantly increased with </span><span>increasing</span><span> maternal size, and female offspring </span><span>produced</span><span> by younger </span><span>mothers were</span><span> larger </span><span>in </span><span>size. However, inconsistent with common knowledge, </span><span>the </span><span>body sizes of both </span><span>females</span><span> and </span><span>males</span><span> appears to increase when the total development time from egg to adult eclosion decreases. Although all </span><span>the</span><span> developmental </span><span>temperatures of the offspring were</span><span> the same, </span><span>the </span><span>development time </span><span>significantly differed and</span><span> was significantly affected by maternal status.</span><span> </span><span>The male offspring </span><span>produced</span><span> by larger </span><span>females have</span><span> shorter development </span><span>times</span><span>, and </span><span>the </span><span>female offspring </span><span>produced</span><span> by older </span><span>females have</span><span> longer development </span><span>times</span><span>. Consequently, our results suggested that the effect of maternal status on offspring size may be mediated by influencing development time. Furthermore, <em>A. disparis</em> </span><span>is</span><span> considered potential biological control agent </span><span>for</span><span> several </span><span>Lepidoptera</span><span> </span><span>pests</span><span>, and our results provide further guidance for mass </span><span>rearing indoors</span><span> and pest control </span><span>in the wild</span><span>.</span></p>