| ABSTRACT Parasitoid ovipositor size importantly affects host choice; those attacking exposed hosts usually have shorter ovipositors compared to those needing drilling deeper through substrates such as plant tissue and gall tissue. Most studies treat this theme at the interspecific level, and the aim of this work was to test for intraspecific variation and phenotypic matching in ovipositor size for Galeopsomyia sp. attacking galls. Galls were sampled from Guapira opposita(Nyctaginaceae), a host plant to five species of Bruggmannia gallers (Diptera, Cecidomyiidae) in southern Brazil: Bruggmannia elongata, B. robusta, B. acaudata, and two undescribed species of Bruggmannia (sp. 1 and sp. 2). On forest transects, all galls from the 30 first galled plants found... |
