Biological performance and potential of Fopius ceratitivorus (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), an egg–larval parasitoid of tephritid fruit Xies newly imported to Hawaii

The host range and biological performance of Fopius ceratitivorus Wharton, a recently discovered African parasitoid, was studied in quarantine in Hawaii to determine its eYciency and safety for use as a biological control agent. Female F. ceratitivorus oviposits into eggs and only rarely in Wrst instars of the Mediterranean fruit Xy, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann). The three other extant fruit Xy pests in Hawaii, Bactrocera cucurbitae (Coquillett), Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) and Bactrocera latifrons (Hendel) were unsuitable for F. ceratitivorus development. Developmental time from egg to adult and mean longevity of host-deprived females were 21.8 and 14.8 days, respectively. In both choice and no-choice tests F. ceratitivorus showed no positive response to the non-target tephritid Procecidochares alani Steyskal (eggs or larvae) on infested pamakani weed, Ageratina riparia (Regel), and caused neither parasitism nor mortality to this non-frugivorous Xy. Studies of competition with extant parasitoids revealed that F. ceratitivorus and the widely established egg–larval parasitoid, Fopius arisanus (Sonan) have the same chance of winning in intrinsic competition with one another, depending on which one occupies the host Wrst. Our Wndings suggest that release of this parasitoid as a biological control agent in Hawaii will pose minimal non-target risk and may contribute to overall Xy biological control in the islands.  2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.