Copies of six of the author's previously published articles in pocket inside back cover. / Bibliography: leaves 188-208. / ix, 239, [23] leaves, [37] leaves of plates : ill., maps ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / This study has investigated the phylogenetic relationships among genera and species of hyptiogastrine wasps, examined whether the current distribution of taxa can be explained by vicariance events, and revised the taxonomy of species. (summary) / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Applied and Molecular Ecology, 2000

Copies of six of the author's previously published articles in pocket inside back cover. / Bibliography: leaves 188-208. / ix, 239, [23] leaves, [37] leaves of plates : ill., maps ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / This study has investigated the phylogenetic relationships among genera and species of hyptiogastrine wasps, examined whether the current distribution of taxa can be explained by vicariance events, and revised the taxonomy of species. (summary) / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Applied and Molecular Ecology, 2000

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Applied and Molecular Ecology, 1999. / Addendum pasted onto verso of back end paper. Copy of author's previously published article inserted. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 220-236).

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, Dept. of Applied and Molecular Ecology, 2000. / Copies of six of the author's previously published articles in pocket inside back cover. Bibliography: leaves 188-208.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1981. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 85-89).

Copies of six of the author's previously published articles in pocket inside back cover. Bibliography: leaves 188-208. This study has investigated the phylogenetic relationships among genera and species of hyptiogastrine wasps, examined whether the current distribution of taxa can be explained by vicariance events, and revised the taxonomy of species. (summary)

Nesting behaviour and prey selection was compared in eight species of Ammophila. The frequent sympatry of these species was a central point of interest in the study. Nest siting differed markedly in several species. A. ferrugineipes, A. dolichodera, A. dolichocephala and, probably, A. conifera nested mostly in open habitats, this being regarded as the most common situation for the majority of Ammophila. A. beniniensis was unusual in nesting in well vegetated habitats, A. vulcania doing so amongst small clumps of vegetation in otherwise open habitats. A. insignis nested in vertical banks or old animal burrows and A. braunsi utilised abandoned burrows of other wasps situated in non-friable clay soils. This is the first time such nest siting has been reported for Ammophila and each of these two species is consequently unique. Many aspects of nest construction behaviour, in particular methods of soil waste disposal, sealing of nests and their final coverage, differed interspecifically, in some cases intraspecifically, but often apparently in response to the habitat. With regard to nest provisioning strategies, all species hunted after digging their nests, except A. dolichodera which is the first Afrotropical Ammophila reported to hunt before excavating its nest. This brings the total number of the world's species of Ammophila showing this behaviour to three. This species, A. beniniensis, A. braunsi and A. vulcania provided one caterpillar per nest; the others supplied several, A. insignis being the only mass provisioner. A. ferrugineipes showed a form of progressive provisioning and maintained several nests at a time; it is the only Afrotropical species known so far to do so. Only two extra-limital species have been reported showing similar behaviour. The observed variations in provisioning strategies can most easily be explained in relation to the habitat. Investigation of prey selection showed that there was very little interspecific overlap in the species of caterpillars used for provisioning nests. This was shown to be due mainly to differing hunting habitat preferences. The various overall patterns of nesting behaviour, and variations in the different components within these patterns, were considered most likely to have resulted from allopatric speciation in different types of vegetation, the more advanced patterns arising in open habitats. The frequent occurrence of sympatry appears to be a reflection of a shifting distribution of mosaic patterns of vegetation types and the post-speciation spread of species. This influence of habitat on behaviour and prey selection has emphasised the need for caution in drawing phylogenetic conclusions from ethology. Further, these considerations provide an alternative to competition in attempting to explain the observed behaviour patterns and distribution of these wasps.

Résumé: Heteronomous host relationships are unique to parasitoids in about 8 aphelinid genera. Males have host relationships quite distinct from those of their females. Females of ALL species are primary endoparasitoids of homopterous hosts. Males, on the other hand, may be either primary ectoparasitoids of the same host species as their conspecific females, or they may be hyperparasitic upon parasitoids within Homoptera, and some are primary endoparasitoids of moth eggs. Species in these groups are termed DIPHAGOUS PARASITOIDS, HETERONOMOUS HYPERPARASITOIDS and HETEROTROPHIC PARASITOIDS, respectively. The selective advantages proposed to explain the evolution of these unusual host relationships are examined in this thesis. The biology of a diphagous parasitoid was examined in detail because diphagous parasitism is considered the most primitive of heteronomous host relationships. Diphagous parasitism is thought to have evolved during a period when ovipositing females continuously encountered large proportions of parasitised hosts. Larval competition may have generated the selection pressures that favoured male ectoparasitism. Ectoparasitoids are known to be superior in competition against other larvae, even older ones. A series of observations was carried out on the diphagous parasitoid, Coccophagus bartletti. Information was gathered on oviposition and host-feeding behaviour, daily activity patterns, and sex ratios in the laboratory and field. This enabled the design and interpretation of a series of observations on the responses of mated C. bartletti females to already-parasitised hosts. The results indicate that competition from other parasitoids probably played no role in the evolution of diphagous host relationships. Heteronomous hyperparasitoids, thought to have evolved from diphagous parasitoids, appear to be strong competitors because their males kill other parasitoids. However, an alternative hypothesis to the competition one, and based on the present study, is presented. Implications for the generally-held view, that competition is important in moulding species' characters, are discussed.

The external morphology of Aoplus cestus (Cresson), an Ichneumonid parasite of the oak looper and hemlock looper in British Columbia, is described. An attempt is made to homologize the structures of this highly-modified insect with those known in more generalized insects, in the hope of clarifying some questions of Ichneumonid morphology which have been neglected by entomologists. The terminology used was selected from authors whose nomenclature is generally accepted by present-day morphologists. / Science, Faculty of / Zoology, Department of / Graduate

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