Fopius arisanus and Psyttalia fletcheri are egg and larval parasitoids, respectively, of tephritid fruit flies including the melon fly, Bactrocera cucurbitae. We investigated the consequences of parasitization when eggs or larvae of melon flies were exposed to F. arisanus or P. fletcheri alone, or to both in succession. In addition, we evaluated the effect of fruit substrates on host preference...

BACKGROUND During oviposition many parasitoid wasps inject various factors, such as polydnaviruses (PDVs), along with eggs that manipulate the physiology and development of their hosts. These manipulations are thought to benefit the parasites. However, the detailed mechanisms of insect host-parasitoid interactions are not fully understood at the molecular level. Based on recent findings that so...

The red sunßower seed weevil, Smicronyx fulvus LeConte, is a pest of sunßower in the northern and central Plains sunßower production regions. Weevil larvae feed and develop in the sunßower achene dropping to the soil to overwinter. A total of 630 parasitoids emerging from seed weevil larvae recovered fromNorth and SouthDakota andMinnesota from1991 to 1995was identiÞed as Triaspis aequoris Marti...

The elongate hemlock scale, Fiorinia externa Ferris, and a circular one, Nuculaspis tsugae (Marlatt) (Homoptera: Diaspididae) attack eastern hemlock, Tsuga canadensis Carriere in the eastern United States. They often co-exist with hemlock woolly adelgid, Adelges tsugae Annand, and hasten the decline of hemlock. Aspidiotiphagus citrinus Craw (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) was the only parasitoid spe...

Bioassay was conducted with nine botanical extracts at various concentrations viz., azadirachtin 300ppm, 1500ppm, 3000ppm, 10000ppm, neem seed oil 1%, 2%, 3%, extract 5% and dashparniark 4% on Trichogrammatoidea bactrae Nagaraja (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) in completely randomized design. Assessment of these % parasitization, reduction parasitism adult emergence T. Corcyra eggs done. The r...

In the present study, expression of a newly identified Glyptapanteles indiensis polydnavirus (GiPDV) gene encoding a putative protein tyrosine phosphatase (PDVPTP) was monitored in vivo in the parasitized host, L. dispar, using one step RT-PCR. Expression levels of the PDVPTP transcript were also evaluated in various host tissues at different times post parasitization (pp) using RT quantitative...

In situ hybridizations show that 5 min after parasitization, polydnavirus DNA is in close vicinity of the parasitoid egg, but 5 h later also in the yolk and partially in the host embryo. Fifteen hours after parasitization, the viral DNA is seen all over the host embryo and hardly in the yolk. The tissue distribution of the viral DNA was analysed and quantified by dot blots in the fifth instar p...

Trichogramma, an egg parasitoid can be used in controlling many lepidopteran pests. Therefore, it is necessary to demonstrate the capacity of these natural enemies in controlling the pest population so as to use them in biological control programs against the pest. Such an attempt was made in this particular study, where the parasitization rate of Trichogramma chilonis was tested on the eggs of...

Temperature and host stage are important factors that determine the successful development of parasitoids. Aenasius bambawalei Hayat (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) is a primary parasitoid of the newly invasive mealybug, Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae). The effects of temperature on the parasitic characteristics of A. bambawalei have seldom been investigated. In the study, ...

Aspects of Biosteres arisanus (Sonan) (= Opius oophilus Fullaway) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) development on the oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera (= Dacus) dorsalis (Hendel), were investigated to facilitate mass production in the insectary. Life table statistics were generated for cohorts of B. arisanus females. Overlap in the emergence of fruit flies and parasitoids necessitated a procedure for se...