Our biological model for microcosm studies is Trichogramma, a minute hymenopteran wasp that parasitizes lepidopteran eggs. Locally at INRA we have access to a Biological Resource Center on Egg Parasitoids, which hosts more than 200 live populations of Trichogramma. We have been exploring this diversity to characterize populations based on their demographic parameters, and to identify trade-offs between local performance and colonization patterns. This work will help future projects to select the model populations most suited for specific research questions, depending on their demographic characteristics.
Time series of population size along 4 generations, for 4 populations of Trichogramma
Relationship between per capita growth rate (y) and population size (x) for the same populations
Funding sources: ANR (Triptic 2014-2018)