With the discovery of the larval parasitoid, Cotesia plutellae Kurdjumov, and the successful introduction and establishment of two other exotic parasitoid species, viz. Diadegma semiclausum Hellen and Diadromus (Thyraeella) collaris Gravenhorst in the Cameron Highlands, biological control was given greater emphasis in the development of IPM for diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.), in Mal...

The pest status of diamondback moth (DBM), Plutella xylostella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Yponomeutidae), in South Africa is lower than in other countries with similar climates. A project was initiated to investigate possible reasons for this. Larval and pupal populations of DBM were monitored weekly for two years on unsprayed cabbage plots. Adult populations were also monitored continuously for two ye...

A combination of magnetic susceptibility and Mossbauer measurements on quasicrystalline i­ Ah4Mn2o-xFexSi6 (0.02 ~ x ~ 7.5) establishes that Mn atoms in i-Ab4Mn2oSi6 occupy two distinct classes of sites, and that Fe substitutes for only one of them. The two classes are distinguished by the possession or otherwise of a localized magnetic moment. The data are consistent with a structure of in­ te...

A survey was conducted from May to Oct of 2011 of the parasitoid community of the imported cabbageworm, Pieris rapae (Lepidoptera: Pieridae), in cole crops in part of the eastern United States and southeastern Canada. The findings of our survey indicate that Cotesia rubecula (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) now occurs as far west as North Dakota and has become the dominant parasitoid of P. rapae in th...

Parasitism of Plutella xylostella (L.) third and fourth instars was evaluated in a cabbage field in Geneva, NY, in 1999. Over the entire season, average parasitism was 33.6% for third instars and 53.6% for fourth instars, and the main parasitoids were Diadegma insulare (Cresson) and Microplitis plutellae Muesbeck. In the early season, total parasitism was low, and mainly caused by D. insulare. ...

Field surveys of parasitoids of diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L), have indicated that Apanteles plutellae Kurdj may have a suppressing effect on the population of this insect. How important the parasitoid really is and to what extent it is beneficial is, however, not exactly known. This was, therefore, evaluated using an insecticide-check method whereby four treatments, each having dif...

Three major primary parasitoids of the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.), are found in the Cameron Highlands, Malaysia. Cotesia plutellae (Kurdjumov) was discovered in the early 1970s, Diadegma semiclausum (Hellén) and Diadromus collaris (Gravenhorst) were introduced in the mid 1970s from New Zealand and Australia. Field studies in the early 1980s showed that C. plutellae was the domin...

Plants produce volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in response to herbivore attack, and these VOCs can be used by parasitoids of the herbivore as host location cues. We investigated the behavioural responses of the parasitoid Cotesia vestalis to VOCs from a plant-herbivore complex consisting of cabbage plants (Brassica oleracea) and the parasitoids host caterpillar, Plutella xylostella. A Y-tube ...