Aphidius ervi (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) is an entomophagous parasitoid known to be an effective parasitoid of several aphid species of economic importance. A reduction of its production cost during mass rearing for inundative release is needed to improve its use in biological control of pests. In these contexts, a careful analysis of its entire development phases within its host is needed. This...

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 ...

The egg-larval parasitoid Chelonus insularis Cresson is a key parasitoid of the fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) during the second fi eld generation in the upper Magdalena River Basin, Colombia. In spite of selection pressure, the higher susceptibility of the second generation fall armyworm larvae to insecticides, compared with that of the fi rst generation, suggests that the p...

The egg parasitoids Trissolcus japonicus (Ashmead) and mitsukurii (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) are the most effective biocontrol agents of invasive agricultural pest Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) in its native range (east Asia). T. sympatric areas. In northern Italy, where H. is a major fruit orchards, adventive populations both species spreading, artificially released unde...

Parasitoids locate inconspicuous hosts in a heterogeneous habitat using plant volatiles, some of which are induced by the hosts. Hyposoter horticola Gravenhost (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) is a parasitoid of the Glanville fritillary butterfly Melitaea cinxia L. (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). Melitaea cinxia lays eggs in clusters on leaves of Plantago lanceolata L. (Lamiales: Plantaginaceae) and Ve...

the codling moth, cydia pomonella, is the most important pest insect in apple orchards. efficacy of a native strain of the egg parasitoid wasp, trichogramma embryophagum, was statistically compared with chemical control and check treatments in an apple orchard. the best times for releasing the parasitoid wasps were determined by using a forecasting model based on estimation of growing degree ho...

A new species, Collyria catoptron, is described from Gansu Province, China. It is an egg-larval koinobiont parasitoid reared from Cephus fumipennis, a grass-mining sawfly that attacks wheat. Collyria catoptron is currently being evaluated as a possible biological control agent for Cephus cinctus in North America.

Thedevelopment, fecundity, and life tableparameters ofGonatocerus ashmeadiGirault, an egg parasitoid of the glassy-winged sharpshooter,Homalodisca coagulata (Say), were studied in the laboratory at six constant temperatures between 12 and 32 C. At 12 C, the parasitoid failed to develop beyond the third instar, and durations of the egg stage and the Þrst and second instarswere prolonged. Develop...

Foraging parasitoids rely on infochemicals, derived from the habitat, host plant and/or insect itself. Here, we studied olive fruit fly Bactrocera oleae (Rossi) (Diptera: Tephritidae), a major pest in agroecosystem and its larval parasitoid, Psyttalia concolor (Szépligeti) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), well-established abundant wasp Crete. To improve parasitoid’s efficiency as biological control a...

trissolcus grandis thomson is a solitary egg parasitoid of sunn pest, eurygaster integriceps puton. although widely distributed, it has often been overlooked in field surveys. our objectives were to develop an efficient rearing technique for t. grandis, and to determine the basic bionomics and demographic parameters, necessary for future augmentative biological control programs. exposure of 0-4...