A preliminary review of some interesting aspects of bio-ethology of the chalcids (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) associated with plant galls

Abstract

The interactions and inter-relationships between plant galls and the chalcids with them are often extremely intricate and it is not easy always to assess correctly a given species as a gall former or an inquiline or a parasite of another inhabitant of a gall. The chalcids show complex inter-relationships with other inhabitants of a gall in many instances. The existence of both phytophagy and entomophagy in the same species or in the same individual is an interesting phenomenon met with in some species of chalcids associated with plant galls. The host-finding and host-acceptance behaviour of some of the gall-chalcids are other interesting aspects discussed.