title: Mixed sex allocation strategies in a parasitoid wasp.
abstract: The sex allocation strategy of the parasitoid Laelius pedatus (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae) on different-sized hosts was investigated. The wasp lays from one to five eggs, and clutch size increases with host size. On the smallest hosts, single male eggs are laid, while on slightly larger hosts single female eggs are laid. On still larger hosts, gregarious clutches are laid which nearly always consist of a single male and one or more female eggs. The sex ratio strategy of the wasp appears to be influenced by a combination of local mate competition and conditional sex expression based on host quality.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and NERC Centre for Population Biology, Imperial College at Silwood Park, Ascot, Berks SL5 7PY, UK fax: 01344 294339; e-mail: c.godfray@ic.ac.uk, , , , , , GB.
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Mayhew
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and NERC Centre for Population Biology, Imperial College at Silwood Park, Ascot, Berks SL5 7PY, UK fax: 01344 294339; e-mail: c.godfray@ic.ac.uk, , , , , , GB.
authors.forename: H C J
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Godfray
keywords: Key words Parasitoid ;  Bethylidae ;  Clutch size ;  Reproductive strategy;  Sex ratio 