Although learning is hypothesized to improve fitness, the direct effects of experience on ovipositional decision-making have not been tested. We investigated the effects of post-emergence experience with host or novel plants on clutch size and sex ratio allocation by Cotesia congregata (Say). Wasps that emerged on one of two host plants produced clutches with a higher proportion of females when offered the same plant at oviposition. Wasps that emerged on one of two novel plants oviposited larger clutches in the presence of a relatively unattractive novel plant, irrespective of post-emergence experience, and produced clutches with higher proportions of females on either plant than wasps with no plant experience. Differential effects of post-emergence experience on clutch size and sex ratios may reflect prior adaptation to host plants and facilitate local adaptation to plants utilized by abundant hosts.
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