Fernando, L.C.P., & Walter, G.H. 1999 Activity patterns and oviposition rates of Aphytis lingnanensis females, a parasitoid of California red scale Aonidiella aurantii: implications for successful biological control.. Ecological Entomology 24(4): 416-425.

Notes: Activity patterns of Aphytis lingnanensis females were determined. A. lingnanensis females showed a repeatable pattern of activity during the course of the day, ovipositing actively during the first 1.5 h of their 7 h exposure to hosts. Thereafter, activity levels decreased sharply and females spent relatively long intervals resting. Activity occurred in fairly discrete bouts, with long periods of inactivity, ranging from 12 to 231 min between bouts. Once females completed a bout of oviposition in the laboratory, they moved away from the hosts even though many suitable hosts remained. They stood immobile, sheltering, until they matured more eggs. These results suggest how general biological control models and dynamic state variable models of behaviour can be made more realistic. In particular, the behaviour of females does not remain constant over extended periods, particularly because of egg depletion, which suggests that the interaction between the ovipositional history of the individual and its physiological capabilities dictates the response of females to particular circumstances, and thus contributes to patterns of parasitism in the field. It is predicted that A. lingnanensis females in the field are inactive at night and begin ovipositing when it becomes light enough in the morning. Egg depletion is likely if enough hosts are available, but should occur later in the day than was recorded in the laboratory. Egg-depleted females are likely to shelter while they mature more eggs, but may undertake interpatch movement.