Cold temperature and host-parasite dynamics of Sarcophaga bullata (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) and Melittobia digitata (Hymentoptera: Eulophidae)

In this research, I investigate how freezing and sub-freezing temperatures affected the survival rates of the host-parasite insect pair of Sarcophaga bullata (Dipera: Sarcophagidae) and the ectoparasitic wasp Melittobia digitata (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae). The objective for this study is to compare relative low temperature adaptations between host and parasitoid to determine if temperature can serve as a thermal refuge for S. bullata in this system. Experimental data from this research suggests that cooler temperatures, replicating overwintering periods, serve as a form of refugia for S. bullata, and that as overwintering temperatures increase, the survival rate of parasitized S. bullata decreases. Currently there are relatively few studies that have directly examined the role of temperature in parasitoid avoidance by hosts. With these data, I hope to provide more insight in the role temperature plays in host-parasite and host-parasitoid dynamics