Natural Enemies with Special Reference to Parasitic Wasps

Parasitic hymenopterans are most predominant among arthropod community members centered upon gall inducers and their host plants. They frequently play an important role as biotic mortality factors operating on gall midge populations. To evaluate their impact on gall midges, this Chapter treats necessary information as to their taxonomic status and various behavioral and ecological traits such as parasitic strategies, host ranges, and interaction with host gall midges. We also emphasize necessity of expressing the abundance of parasitoids as population numbers instead of percentage parasitism.