REQUEST FOR ASSISTANCE - We are two PhD students at Evolutionary
Genetics Group, Groningen University (The Netherlands). Our names are
Silvia Paolucci and Maartje Giesbers. We are in the third year of our
4 years PhD project. We study genetics of adaptation using Nasonia
parasitoid wasps as study organisms. One of our research goals is to
investigate intra- and inter-specific variation for certain adaptive
traits in natural populations. We are currently planning our field
work season in North America in late spring-summer 2011. We would
like to ask your kind help in planning our field work because we
collect the wasps in bird nest boxes. Female Nasonia wasps lay eggs
on fly pupae; wasp larvae develop inside the host and emerge as
adults after 15-20 days. These wasps can be collected in bird nests
because their hosts (blowflies and other fly species) are common nest
inhabitants. Nestling birds become infested by blowflies when adult
flies lay eggs directly on nestlings or on nest material near
nestlings. Fly eggs hatch within 24-48 hours after they are laid and
the larvae must feed immediately by sucking birds'; blood. Pupation
usually occurs shortly after nestlings have fledged. It is in this
developmental stage (pupal stage) that flies are parasitized by
Nasonia. We typically collect the nest material of various bird
species after young birds have fledged. The nest material is then
sorted and fly pupae are isolated and maintained until wasps or flies
emerge. We then use the wasps for our experiments. The best timing to
sample wasps is between one and two weeks after the birds' fledging.
We would like to sample in the coming spring-summer in North America
and we are looking for bird nests trail holders that like to help us
in our field work. Please note that since wasp collection has to take
place after fledging, birds are not disturbed and empty nests are
removed from nest boxes. Contact SILVIA PAOLUCCI, (EM:
<file:///C:/Users/David/AppData/Local/Temp/ma
ilto:[email protected]>[email protected], PH: +31 (0)50 363 2336).
