Host Ranges of Six Solitary Filth Fly Parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae, Chalcididae) from Florida, Eurasia, Morocco, and Brazil

Attack rates, progeny production, sex ratios, and host use efÞciency of Muscidufurax raptor Girualt and Sanders, Spalangia cameroni Perkins, S. endius (Walker), S. nigroaenea Curtis, S. gemina Boucek (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae), and Dirhinus himalayanus (Hymenoptera: Chalcididae)were evaluated in laboratory bioassayswith Þve dipteran hosts: house ßy (Musca domesticaL.), stable ßy (Stomoxys calcitrans L.), horn ßy (Hematobia irritans L.), black dump ßy [Hydrotaea aenescens (Weidemann)] (Diptera: Muscidae), and a ßesh ßy (Sarcophaga bullata Parker) (Diptera: Sarcophagidae).M. raptor, S.cameroni, and S. endius readily attacked and produced progeny on all Þve host species, with substantially lower production from S. bullata than from the muscid hosts. Rates of host attacks by S. nigroaenea and S. gemina were similar on house ßy, stable ßy, and black dump ßy hosts, with lower rates on horn ßy; almost no progeny were produced by S. nigroaenea on S. bullata hosts.D.himalayanus, a large-bodiedchalcididparasitoid, hadhighest ratesofhost attacks andprogeny production on S. bullata andH. aenescens, followed by stable ßy and house ßy hosts; very few progeny wereproducedby this speciesonhornßyhosts.Overall differences amongdifferent geographic strains of parasitoids (from Russia, Kazkhstan, and Florida) were generally small, although the Florida strain of M. raptor was superior to the two Eurasian strains.