LAB LOGA page on LabLog, a review site (not the lab's official page)
Applied Zoology and Entomology Lab
Machine-translated · View original
A lab that explores how insects interact with one another, focusing on parasitoid wasps.
AboutAbout the lab
Exploring how parasitoid wasps live and how they relate to their hosts
The Applied Zoology and Entomology lab studies the life-history strategies of parasitoid insects, including parasitoid wasps, and their interactions with host organisms.
The lab discovered that even when a wasp lays eggs in an insect that is not its host, parasitism can succeed if a wasp of a different species lays eggs at the same time, and named this mode of parasitism "pirate parasitism".
It has been reported that plant fungicides, which protect crops from disease, cause parasitism failure in parasitoid wasps, and the lab is also working to clarify the actual situation and the mechanism behind it.
The lab also conducts surveys to clarify the insect fauna of regions across Japan.
Key terms
- Host
- An organism on which parasitoid wasps and similar insects lay their eggs and parasitize.
- pirate parasitism
- A mode of parasitism in which parasitism can succeed even on an insect that is not the host, if a wasp of a different species lays eggs at the same time. The name means "piratical parasitism."
- Plant fungicides
- Agrochemicals used to protect crops from disease.
NewsLab news
Review article with Assistant Professor Kuramitsu as first and co-corresponding author accepted by Current Opinion in Insect Science
Assistant Professor Kuramitsu receives the Young Researcher Encouragement Award of the Entomological Society of Japan
Paper with a student as first author published in Entomological Science; University of Tsukuba issues a press release
Student wins a poster award at the 70th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Applied Entomology and Zoology
Student receives a University of Tsukuba Student Commendation (President's Commendation)
ResearchResearch themes
The lab's main research themes are clarifying the life-history strategies of parasitoid insects, including parasitoid wasps, and clarifying their interactions with host organisms. Its work is wide-ranging, from how parasitoid wasps relate to their hosts and to agrochemicals, to surveys of the insect fauna in various regions.
*Illustrative imageInvestigating the Significance of Oviposition on Non-Hosts
Oviposition on non-hosts has been regarded as an accident, but the lab found that parasitism can succeed when a wasp of a different species lays eggs at the same time. It aims to clarify how universal and how frequent this mode of parasitism is, and what its physiological mechanism is.
*Illustrative imageEffects of Plant Fungicides on Parasitoid Wasps
Fungicides have been reported to cause parasitism failure in parasitoid wasps. The lab investigates how universal this is, what happens under conventional farming, and the physiological mechanism, aiming to establish ways of using fungicides that balance crop protection with the conservation of parasitoid wasps.
*Illustrative imageInteractions Between Hosts and Parasitoid Wasps
The lab studies the interactions between a variety of insects, including those of the families Attelabidae (leaf-rolling weevils), Curculionidae (weevils), and Siricidae (horntails), and the wasps that parasitize them.
*Illustrative imageClarifying the Insect Fauna of Each Region
Through academic surveys and surveys commissioned by local governments, the lab works to clarify the fauna of regions across Japan, mainly insects.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Applied Zoology and Entomology lab consist of faculty, doctoral and master's students, and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- Assistant ProfessorKazumu Kuramitsu
VoicesStudent voices
Ratings and reviews reflect the experiences of individual current or former students, not the lab's official views. Whether a lab has reviews, or how many, says nothing about the lab itself.
Students who take part in an interview may receive a thank-you gift worth ¥1,000, regardless of what they say.
Student ratings (0 students)
--
--
--
--
--
--
Student voices answer questions like these
- What's great about this lab?
- What did you learn after joining?
- What's the vibe, and what is the professor like?
- Who is this lab for?
- Where do graduates go?
Your experience can help younger students choose their lab. Your name won't be shown.
Write a lab reviewAnonymous · Your draft is saved if you stopRelatedLabs similar to Applied Zoology and Entomology Lab
Conservation Ecology LabSchool of Life and Environmental Sciences, College of Biological Sciences[Tomoyuki Yokoi] Specialty: insect ecology. Basic ecology an…
Neuroethology and Evolutionary Biology LabSchool of Life and Environmental Sciences, College of Biological Sciences[Yuki Ishikawa] Specialty: neuroethology, evolutionary biolo…
Microbial Ecology LabSchool of Life and Environmental Sciences, College of Biological Sciences[Shota Masumoto] Field: microbial ecology; plant–fungal inte…
Sugadaira Mycology LabSchool of Life and Environmental Sciences, College of Biological Sciences[Yosuke Degawa] Field: mycology; phylogeny, taxonomy, and na…The information on this page is compiled by the LabLog team from the lab's public information and interviews. For corrections or removal requests, please contact LabLog, not the lab.
Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Orussus abietinus (Hymenoptera- Orussidae) - a parasitic wood wasp ! ( )” gbohne from Berlin, Germany / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Investigating the Significance of Oviposition on Non-Hosts: “Parasitoid wasp pointing ovipositor at cinnabar moth larva” Ian Alexander / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Effects of Plant Fungicides on Parasitoid Wasps: “Equipment for Podosphaera macularis” David Gent, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Bugwood.org / CC BY 3.0 us (cropped)
- Interactions Between Hosts and Parasitoid Wasps: “Leaf-rolling Weevil 7422” Vengolis / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Clarifying the Insect Fauna of Each Region: “DSIR archive G2 03 Insect Survey method of using a sweep net, 1957” Department of Scientific and Industrial Research / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Conservation Ecology Lab): “Pollinator - bumblebee and bee” Jakub Fryš / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Neuroethology and Evolutionary Biology Lab): “Insect predation” Polychronis Rempoulakis / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Microbial Ecology Lab): “Alpine Tundra Plants on Grey Mountain ( )” Chris Hunkeler from Carlsbad, California, USA / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Sugadaira Mycology Lab): “Amanita muscaria - Deschampsia flexuosa 02” Moinats / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
About LabLog
LabLog is a lab review app for students only. Student members at each university interview students in labs and publish what they say. Student voices can only be read by students who sign up with a university email address. Operated by bestiee Inc.
Learn more about LabLog ↗Search engines and AI may reference the basic lab info and rating summaries on this page and the description of LabLog. Student voices are for student members only. Automated collection by programs (scraping, or input to or training of AI) is prohibited under Article 8 of the Terms of Service. If you need data for research or analysis, please contact us.