laboratory experiments were conducted to understand the influence of host-finding behaviour of apanteles subandinus blanchard and orgilus lepidus muesebeck, two endoparasitoids of the potato tuber moth (ptm) phthorimaea operculella zeller (lepidop-tera: gelechiidae), in a successful biological control of the pest. responses of the two parasitoids to their host and to three host plants of the pt...

Microgastrine wasps (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) are primary parasitoids of Lepidoptera. Some of them parasitise major economic pests and have been largely used for biocontrol programs. We revise here the fauna of Reunion Island: 34 species were recorded, belonging to 13 genera. One genus and 18 species are newly described: Dodogaster gen. nov, Apanteles minatchy sp. nov., A. pashmina sp. nov., A....

Based on the study of 12,000+ specimens, an annotated checklist of 28 genera and 225 species of Microgastrinae braconids from Canada and Alaska is provided, increasing by 50% the number of species for the region. The genera Distatrix, Iconella, Protomicroplitis and Pseudapanteles for Canada, and Diolcogaster for Alaska are recorded for the first time; all but Iconella and Protomicroplitis repre...

Phauda flammans Walker (Lepidoptera, Zygaenidae) is one of the notorious defoliators on Ficus spp. trees. In order to avoid environmental pollution, potential biological control agents for P. flammans need to be investigated instead of chemical control. Four species of insect parasitoids were identified from P. flammans, including three hymenopteran species (i.e., Gotra octocinctus, Apanteles s...

A 10-wk study of the avocado seed-feeding moth Stenoma catenifer Walsingham (Lepidoptera: Elachistidae), was conducted in a commercial 'Hass' avocado (Persea americana Miller [Lauraceae]) orchard in Guatemala. Up to 45% of fruit in the orchard were damaged by larval S. catenifer. Larval-to-adult survivorship for 1,881 S. catenifer larvae in Hass fruit was 37%, and adult sex ratio was 51% female...

More than half a million specimens of wild-caught Lepidoptera caterpillars have been reared for their parasitoids, identified, and DNA barcoded over a period of 34 years (and ongoing) from Area de Conservación de Guanacaste (ACG), northwestern Costa Rica. This provides the world's best location-based dataset for studying the taxonomy and host relationships of caterpillar parasitoids. Among Hyme...

The subgenus Choeras Mason, 1981 of genus Apanteles Foerster, 1862 (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Microgastrinae) from China is revised with 18 new species described and illustrated, and one known species redescribed. A key to the Chinese species of this subgenus is provided.

In the present study, the Iranian Microgastrinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) fauna is summarized. It is based on a detailed study of all available published data and new material collected. In total 99 species belonging to 8 genera are from Iran: Apanteles Förster, 1862 (36 species), Cotesia Cameron, 1891 (34 species), Deuterixys Mason, 1981 (1 species), Diolcogaster Ashmead, 1900 (4 species), Mi...