Thesis Title

Life History of the Maritime Platygastrid Echthrodesis lamorali Masner 1968 (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae: Scelioninae).

Supervisor: Dr Julie Coetzee, Co-supervisor: Dr Simon van Noort.

General Summary

Candice began working on her current PhD topic in 2012 at the start of her Masters degree, which she upgraded to a PhD in 2014. Her thesis is based on a tiny (less than 1mm in length) parasitoid wasp, Echthrodesis lamorali (Hymenoptera: Scelioninae), which lays its eggs into those of a spider that lives in the intertidal region along the South African coast. As it occurs at the interface of the terrestrial and marine worlds, this interaction is the first of its kind to be recorded in Southern Africa. The work revolves around the full biology of the wasp, including distribution, parasitism rates, sex ratios, morphology, physiology and systematics. Once her PhD is completed Candice hopes to apply her experience with parasitoids to a biological control setting.

Last Modified: Tue, 04 Aug 2015 11:50:59 SAST