Fig. 2

Representations of the space where the number of parasitoid wasp species would outnumber the Coleoptera, given different parasitoid-to-host ratios for coleopteran hosts and for other insect hosts. a Pictorial representation of the model, wherein the total number of parasitoid species (P) will be the sum of the number of species of Coleoptera (C) and of other insects (I), each first multiplied by their respective overall parasitoid-to-host ratio (\(p_{C}\) or \(p_{I}\)); b black lines show results of the model for four different values of \(p_{I}\) and with \(p_{C}\) held at zero (i.e., when the average coleopteran has no specialist parasitoids). Where black lines overlap with gray shaded areas represents space where P > C; c results of four different scenarios in which \(p_{C}\) and \(p_{I}\) are equal; d some additional combinations of \(p_{C}\) and \(p_{I}\). Though both axes could continue to 1.0, some high values of P and C are not mathematically possible or biologically likely, and at P or C values above 0.5 the question about relative species-richness becomes moot