Investing time and energy into survival and reproduction often presents a tradeoff to many species of animals. In parasitic wasps, both hosts and sugar sources contribute to the forager's fitness but are often found in different locations. The decision to search for hosts or for food can have a strong impact on fitness when the forager's lifetime is short and resources are not abundant. We investigated the tendency of flowers and hosts to attract 1-day-old female Cotesia rubecula Marshall ( Hymenoptera: Braconidae) with different feeding histories in a wind tunnel. Only well-fed wasps exhibited a preference for hosts. In comparison, unfed wasps visited hosts and flowers in equal proportions. Feeding experience had a strong impact on the searching behavior and the number of landings on both resources. Host and food stimuli seem to be equally attractive to hungry parasitic wasps such as C. rubecula. We expect that under field conditions the time available for active food searching in female C. rubecula is short and influenced by the presence of hosts. Nutrition; Diet; Feeding behaviour; Behaviour; Learning; Parasites diseases and disorders; Parasites; Insect parasites; Hosts; Insect hosts Pieris rapae (Pieridae); Food plants; Brassica oleracea; Hymenopteran parasites; Cotesia rubecula; Female parasitoid attraction to plants with lepidopteran hosts vs flowers, wind tunnel experiments Cotesia rubecula (Braconidae); Food plants; Brassica oleracea; Energy budget; Energy state; Feeding behaviour; Feeding experience; Food preferences; Foraging; Experience; Nectar experience; Lepidopteran hosts; Pieris rapae; Female parasitoid attraction to hosts vs flowers, effects of nectar experience & energy state none