Laelius pedatus

(Say, 1836)

Laelius pedatus is a gregarious idiobiont larval ectoparasitoid in the Bethylidae. It attacks larvae in the family Dermestidae, particularly of Trogoderma and Anthrenus. The species exhibits plastic reproductive strategies, with females adjusting offspring size and number based on quality and availability. It has been introduced to multiple regions as a agent for stored-product and museum pests.

Laelius pedatus by (c) Victor Engel, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Victor Engel. Used under a CC-BY license.

Pronunciation

How to pronounce Laelius pedatus: /ˈlaɪliːəs pɪˈdeɪtəs/

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Habitat

Stored-product environments; associated with of dermestid beetles in stored goods, museums, and domestic settings.

Distribution

Native to the New World; confirmed present in the Netherlands through conspecificity with North American . GBIF records indicate presence in Brazil (Minas Gerais, Santa Catarina, São Paulo) and Belgium.

Host Associations

Anthrenus flavipes - larval
Anthrenus sarnicus - larval
Anthrenus verbasci - larval
Trogoderma angustum - larval Successfully parasitized by Dutch ; museum and domestic pest
Trogoderma glabrum - larval Dutch suffers high developmental mortality on this
Trogoderma granarium - larval
Trogoderma variabile - larval developmental stage and size affect parasitization success

Life Cycle

Gregarious ectoparasitoid development on larvae. Survivors of mortality grow larger and take longer to complete development. Developmental mortality varies with host .

Behavior

Females demonstrate adaptive plasticity in size allocation based on quality and abundance, producing larger eggs for high-quality hosts and smaller eggs when hosts are abundant. Clutch laying time increases with clutch size and is longer in unmated than mated females.

Ecological Role

agent against stored-product and museum pest beetles, particularly dermestid .

Human Relevance

Used as a agent against pests in stored products and museums. Monoclonal antibodies have been developed for its identification and quantification in stored-product environments.

More Details

Reproductive plasticity

Female size correlates positively with both size and number of mature eggs carried. Larger females also show lower developmental mortality in offspring.

Sperm depletion

Male number per increases with female oviposition experience, indicating sperm depletion through life.

Taxonomic confirmation

A Dutch was confirmed as with New World L. pedatus through reciprocal crosses with specimens from Madison, Wisconsin, USA.