Immature Development of <I>Cotesia vestalis</I> (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), an Endoparasitoid of <I>Plutella xylostella</I> (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae)

Host age preference of Microplitis mediator (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), an endoparasitoid of Mythimna separata (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Microplitis mediator (Haliday) is a solitary endoparasitoid of larvae of the cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) and the oriental armyworm, Mythimna = Leucania separata (Walker). The preference and suitability of different instars of M. separata for M. mediator were determined under laboratory conditions at a constant temperature of 26 ± 1 C, 65 ± 5% RH and L14:D10 photoperiod. The s...

Parasitism of a Factitious Host, Galleria Mellonella (lepidoptera: Pyralidae) by an Endoparasitoid: Oviposition and Emergence of Microplitis Croceipes (hymenoptera: Braconidae)

Parasitism of Nyctemera amica (White) (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae) and Plutella xylostella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) by Cotesia plutellae (Kurdjumov) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)

The parasitoid, Cotesia plutellae, is used as a biological control agent for diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella, in many countries and has been evaluated as a candidate for release in New Zealand. C. plutellae was originally released in Australia in 1951, but is rarely found. A glasshouse host specificity trial was conducted in Australia to assess whether C. plutellae would parasitise Nyctem...

The rearing of the gregarious koinobiont endoparasitoid Microplitis tristis (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) on its natural host Hadena bicruris (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

We describe a method for the rearing of the oligophagous herbivore Hadena bicruris, and its gregarious koinobiont endoparasitoid Microplitis tristis under laboratory conditions. With flowers from the host food plant Silene latifolia available, female moths lay on average 414 eggs during their lifetime, starting at day 3 after eggression and with a peak number per night on day 8. Caterpillars ca...

BIOLOGICAL CONTROL Oviposition Response of Cotesia plutellae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) to Sterile and Normal Diamondback Moth (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) Larvae

Augmentative release of the endoparasitoid Cotesia plutellae (Kurdjumov) to control diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.), in cabbage, Brassica oleracea variety capitata (L.), would be expensive for growers if done continually during a growing season. A method for establishing released parasitoids would be very beneficial in the control of this pest. One method under consideration is to us...