Climate change and biological control: the consequences of increasing temperatures on host-parasitoid interactions.

The relative thermal requirements and tolerances of hymenopteran parasitoids and their hosts were investigated based on published data. The optimal temperature (Topt) for development of parasitoids was significantly lower than that for their hosts. Given the limited plasticity of insect responses to high temperatures and the proximity of Topt to critical thermal maxima, this suggests that host-parasitoid interactions could be negatively affected by increasing global temperatures. A modelling study of the interactions between the diamondback moth and its parasitoid Diadegma semiclausum in Australia indicated that predicted temperature increases will have a greater negative impact on the distribution of the parasitoid than on its host and that they could lead to its exclusion from some agricultural regions where it is currently important.