Bracon admotus Papp, 2000, and three species of the genus Habrobracon Ashmead, 1895, Habrobracon concolorans (Marshall, 1900), Habrobracon hebetor (Say, 1836) and Habrobracon pillerianae Fischer, 1980, were obtained from the larvae of Lobesia botrana (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775) (Lepidoptera, Tortricidae) feeding on Daphne gnidium Linnaeus, 1753 (Thymelaeaceae) in the natural reserve of Migli...

Food characteristics strongly regulate digestive enzymatic activity of insects through direct influences on their midgut mechanisms. Insect performance is better on diets that contain nutrients in proportions that fit its digestive enzymes. Little is known about the influences of rearing history on parasitism success of Habrobracon hebetor Say. This research focused on the effect of nutrient re...

The cellular and humoral immune reactions in haemolymph of the wax moth Galleria mellonella larvae naturally injected by venom of ectoparasitic wasp Habrobracon hebetor were analyzed. A strong decline of phenoloxidase (PO) activity in the haemolymph and the number of haemocytes with PO activity of envenomated wax moth was observed. In addition, it has been shown that the rate of capsule melaniz...

Biological control using hymenopteran parasitoids presents an attractive alternative to insecticides for reducing infestations and damage from the Indianmeal moth, Plodia interpunctella (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), in retail and warehouse environments. We examined the potential for using combinations of the egg parasitoid Trichogramma deion Riley (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae), and the ...

Phenoloxidase (PO) is a major component of the insect immune system. The enzyme is involved in encapsulation and melanization processes as well as wound healing and cuticle sclerotization. PO is present as an inactive proenzyme, prophenoloxidase (PPO), which is activated via a protease cascade. In this study, we have cloned a full-length PPO1 cDNA and a partial PPO2 cDNA from the Indianmeal mot...

Combining a biotin-enrichment protocol and 454GS-FLX titanium pyrosequencing technology, we characterised 22 polymorphic microsatellite loci from the parasitic wasp, Habrobracon hebetor (Say) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a cosmopolitan species commonly used in biological control against a wide range of both major lepidopterous pests of stored products and fi eld crops in different parts of the wo...

The use of random amplified polymorphic DNA from the polymerase chain reaction (RAPD-PCR) allows efficient construction of saturated linkage maps. However, when analyzed by agarose gel electrophoresis, most RAPD-PCR markers segregate as dominant alleles, reducing the amount of linkage information obtained. We describe the use of single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis of RAPD ma...

Parasitoids of dried-fruit insects were surveyed at a culled fig warehouse in Fresno, CA. Three parasitoids of pyralid larvae were found: Habrobracon hebetor (Say), Venturia canescens (Gravenhorst), and at least one species in the genus Goniozus Förster. Two parasitoids of pyralid pupae also were noted: Mesostenus gracilis (Cresson) and a new species of Psilochalcis Keifer. The latter is a new ...