Is Harmonia axyridis a marginal host for the parasitoid wasp Dinocampus coccinellae?Morphological and molecular genetic analyses

Abstract: It has previously been suggested that Harmonia axyridis is a marginal host for theparasitoid wasp, Dinocampus coccinellae. To investigate this further, we performedmorphological and molecular genetic analyses of wasps from Japanese and UK populations ofCoccinella septempunctata and H. axyridis. Wasps that emerged from H. axyridis were smallerthan those from C. septempunctata, and there was no genetic evidence of host specialisation. Ourdata therefore supports the hypothesis that H. axyridis is a marginal host, which has implicationsfor natural and biological control of this invasive species.