[HELICONIUS] Heliconius parasitoids

[Catalina Estrada]

Hi everyone!

I am starting a project together with Ties Huigens and Nina Fatourus to 
study exploitation of intraspecific signals by egg parasitoids in 
Heliconius.   Nina and Ties have found that egg parasitoids of pierids 
are attracted to antiaphrodisiac pheromones and hitch-hike mated females 
to get their freshly laid eggs!.  Because we now have a better idea of 
the chemical composition of this pheromone in several Heliconius,  we 
think that if this exploitation also happen in this model system, it 
will offers many possibilities to ask really interesting questions 
concerning the evolution of this channel of sexual communication .
 
An important part of this project is having a good understanding of the 
comunity of parasitoids attacking Heliconius and their impact on natural 
populations. We have started collecting information available but 
unfortunately there is not much published, particularly on 
identification to species of those insects. Out goal is to compile the 
data in a paper and a data base that help support our project but also 
stimulate more research about this topic.    So... this is call for 
information.   I would really appreciate if you contact me if you have 
collected data (e.g. rates of parasitism) or accidentally come across 
parasitoids in Heliconius, have specimens we can borrow, or can direct 
me to find people or data bases with  information.  This is my current 
e-mail address: estradac at mail.utexas.edu

Thank you!

I hope you are having a good time.

Catalina

Catalina Estrada
University of Texas at Austin
Integrative Biology
1 University station C0930
Austin TX 78712