Sex allocation of parasitoid wasps.

Parasitoid wasps are currently hot subjects for the study of sex allocation. The sex determination of these wasps is haplodiploid. Unfertilized haploid eggs develop into males,and fertilized diploid eggs develop into females. Because of factors such as local mate competition and inbreeding a female-biased sex ratio is the evolutionary stable strategy in those wasps. Founder females can adjust the sex ratio of their offspring accordingto environmental conditions in order to obtain the highest fitness benefits. The theory of local mate competition(LMC) explains the adjustability of the sex ratio,which provides excellent evidence of evolution.