pauesia antennata mukerji (hymenoptera, braconidae) as the unique parasitoid of the giant brown peach aphid, pterochloroides persiace cholodkovsky (hemiptera, aphididae) is considered to be the most effective biological control agent of this pest. in this study, the assessment of selected biological parameters of p. antennata demonstrated that the longevity of mature parasitoid was 3.90 ± 0.22,...

Generalist predators and parasitoids are considered to be important regulators of aphids. The former not only feed on these pests, but might also consume parasitoids at all stages of development. This direct or coincidental interference affects the natural control of aphids, the scale of which is largely unknown, and it has rarely been examined under natural conditions. Here, molecular diagnost...

fauna of the aphidiinae (hymenoptera: braconidae) of iran is reviewed and the data on their host aphid associations are summarized. seventy-eight species belonging to 17 genera of aphidiinae are listed in the associations with 193 aphid species. a total of 491 parasitoid-aphid associations are presented. the distribution of the aphidiinae species in different parts of iran and other countries i...

Bracoviruses represent the most complex endogenous viral elements (EVEs) described to date. Nudiviral genes have been hosted within parasitoid wasp genomes since approximately 100 Ma. They play a crucial role in the wasp life cycle as they produce bracovirus particles, which are injected into parasitized lepidopteran hosts during wasp oviposition. Bracovirus particles encapsidate multiple dsDNA...

Climate change is causing the poleward range-shift of many species, with consequent modifications to daylight regimes and potential impacts on light-cycle activity patterns ecological interactions. Day-active parasitoids experiencing longer summer days associated a range shift display increased attack rates their aphid hosts have higher lifetime fecundity. Theory consequently predicts that incr...

Ascoviruses are insect-specific large DNA viruses that mainly infect noctuid larvae, and are transmitted by parasitoids in the fields. Heliothis virescens ascovirus 3h (HvAV-3h) has been recently isolated from Spodoptera exigua, without parasitoid vector identified previously. Here we report that Microplitis similis, a solitary endoparasitoid wasp, could transmit HvAV-3h between S. exigua larva...

Predators as diverse as snakes, scorpions, spiders, insects and snails manufacture venoms to incapacitate their prey. Most venoms contain a cocktail of neurotoxins and each neurotoxin is designed to target specific receptors in the nervous and muscular systems. Most neurotoxins act peripherally and interfere with the ability of the prey's nervous system to generate muscle contraction or relaxat...

Bradley J. Cardinale*, Chad T. Harvey, Kevin Gross and Anthony R. Ives Department of Zoology, University of WisconsinMadison, Madison, WI 53706, USA [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] *Correspondence: E-mail: [email protected] Abstract The suppression of agricultural pests has often been proposed as an important service of natural enemy diversity, but few experiments have test...

The parasitoid wasp, Hyposoter horticola, parasitizes a nearly fixed fraction of its host butterfly larvae within a host metapopulation of 300–500 local populations in a 50 3 70-km area. We show, through laboratory observation, that the wasp lays eggs in fully developed larvae that have not yet hatched from the egg, constraining the period of host vulnerability to several hours out of the host’...

Insect parasitoids must complete part of their life cycle within or on another insect, ultimately resulting in the death of the host insect. One group of parasitoid wasps, the 'microgastroid complex' (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), engage in an association with beneficial symbiotic viruses that are essential for successful parasitism of hosts. These viruses, known as Bracoviruses, persist in an inte...