1
|
Malabusini S, Hardy ICW, Jucker C, Guanzani G, Savoldelli S, Lupi D. Reproductive performance effects of rearing the quasi-social parasitoid, Sclerodermus brevicornis (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae), on a factitious host. JOURNAL OF INSECT SCIENCE (ONLINE) 2023; 23:7. [PMID: 37721496 PMCID: PMC10506449 DOI: 10.1093/jisesa/iead046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2023] [Revised: 04/18/2023] [Accepted: 06/16/2023] [Indexed: 09/19/2023]
Abstract
Wasps in the genus Sclerodermus are ectoparasitoids that typically attack the larvae of woodboring coleopterans. Interest in these species is increasing as they are used in programs to control longhorn beetle pests of economic importance in China and have invasive pest control potential in Europe. Wasps may be mass reared for field release, but using the target host species can be time consuming and physically demanding. There is thus a need for factitious hosts with lower production costs and that are easier to rear. The present research focuses on Sclerodermus brevicornis, which was found in Italy in association with the invasive longhorn beetle, Psacothea hilaris hilaris, and can be laboratory reared on this longhorn beetle and on a factitious lepidopteran host, Corcyra cephalonica. As it is known that the biology of natural enemies can be influenced by the host they emerge from and that the behavior of S. brevicornis is relatively complex due to its degree of sociality (multiple foundress females cooperate to paralyze the host and produce offspring communally), we explored whether, and how, performance and behavioral traits of adult females are influenced by the host species on which they were reared, both when no choice or a choice of current host species was offered. We evaluated the survival of foundresses and their movements between offered hosts and their tendency to form groups with other foundresses according to kinship and host characteristics. We also evaluated the production of offspring and the timing of their development. We found that S. brevicornis reared from C. cephalonica do have some disadvantages compared with those that have developed on P. h. hilaris but also that they recognize, prefer, and can reproduce on P. h. hilaris. We conclude that the use of the more convenient factitious host for mass-rearing is unlikely to greatly compromise the potential of S. brevicornis to suppress longhorn beetle pests in the field.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Serena Malabusini
- Department of Food, Environmental and Nutritional Sciences (DeFENS), University of Milan, Milano, Italy
| | - Ian C W Hardy
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Costanza Jucker
- Department of Food, Environmental and Nutritional Sciences (DeFENS), University of Milan, Milano, Italy
| | - Greta Guanzani
- Department of Food, Environmental and Nutritional Sciences (DeFENS), University of Milan, Milano, Italy
| | - Sara Savoldelli
- Department of Food, Environmental and Nutritional Sciences (DeFENS), University of Milan, Milano, Italy
| | - Daniela Lupi
- Department of Food, Environmental and Nutritional Sciences (DeFENS), University of Milan, Milano, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Kang N, Hu H, Huang Z, Luo S, Guo S. Environmental Factors Drive Chalcid Body Size Increases with Altitudinal Gradients for Two Hyper-Diverse Taxa. INSECTS 2023; 14:67. [PMID: 36661995 PMCID: PMC9865982 DOI: 10.3390/insects14010067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2022] [Revised: 12/23/2022] [Accepted: 01/08/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Body size is the most essential feature that significantly correlates with insects' longevity, fecundity, metabolic rate, and sex ratio. Numerous biogeographical rules have been proposed to illustrate the correlation between the body sizes of different taxa and corresponding geographical or environmental factors. Whether the minute and multifarious chalcids exhibit a similar geographical pattern is still little known. In this research, we analyzed morphological data from 2953 specimens worldwide, including the two most abundant and diverse taxa (Pteromalidae and Eulophidae), which are both composed of field-collected and BOLD system specimens. We examined forewing length as a surrogate of body size and analyzed the average size separately for males and females using two methods (species and assemblage-based method). To verify Bergmann's rule, we included temperature, precipitation, wind speed and solar radiation as explanatory variables in a generalized linear model to analyze the causes of the size variation. We found that there was an increasing trend in the body size of Pteromalidae and Eulophidae with altitude. The optimal Akaike information criterion (AIC) models showed that larger sizes are significantly negatively correlated with temperature and positively correlated with precipitation, and the possible reasons for this variation are discussed and analyzed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ning Kang
- College of Life Science and Technology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830049, China
- Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Genetic Engineering, Urumqi 830046, China
| | - Hongying Hu
- College of Life Science and Technology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830049, China
- Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Genetic Engineering, Urumqi 830046, China
| | - Zengqian Huang
- College of Life Science and Technology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830049, China
- Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Genetic Engineering, Urumqi 830046, China
| | - Shungang Luo
- College of Life Science and Technology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830049, China
- Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Genetic Engineering, Urumqi 830046, China
| | - Shuhan Guo
- College of Life Science and Technology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830049, China
- Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Genetic Engineering, Urumqi 830046, China
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Chen YM, Iqbal A, Lv RE, Wang X, Desneux N, Zang LS. Chinese oak silkworm Antherae pernyi egg, a suitable factitious host for rearing eupelmid egg parasitoids. PEST MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 2022; 78:1789-1799. [PMID: 35019226 DOI: 10.1002/ps.6796] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2021] [Revised: 01/05/2022] [Accepted: 01/12/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Eupelmid egg parasitoids in the genera Anastatus and Mesocomys are important biological control agents for lepidopterous and hemipterous pests worldwide. The egg of Chinese oak silkworm Antheraea pernyi has been widely used for mass rearing of Trichogramma parasitoids. This study evaluated the suitability and optimal use methods of A. pernyi egg as a factitious host for the rearing of six eupelmid egg parasitoids (Anastatus fulloi, Anastatus gansuensis, Anastatus japonicus, Anastatus meilingensis, Mesocomys albitarsis and Mesocomys trabalae). Each parasitoid was tested for its oviposition preference and offspring performance on various differently treated host eggs (extracted from virgin moths or laid naturally by virgin or mated moths, and washed or unwashed prior to the use) in both no-choice and choice tests. RESULTS All treated A. pernyi eggs were readily parasitized by the six parasitoids. In general, A. gansuensis and M. trabalae preferred washed over unwashed eggs regardless of the fertilization status of host eggs, A. fulloi and A. meilingensis parasitized more unfertilized than fertilized host eggs, and A. japonicus and M. albitarsis did not show a preference among differently treated host eggs. Host egg treatment did not significantly affect offspring fitness (development time, survival, sex ratio and body size) nor reproductive potential of developed adult females for each parasitoid species, except for M. albitarsis (whose females contained more eggs when reared from unfertilized than fertilized host eggs). CONCLUSION Results suggest that manually extracted, unfertilized and washed A. pernyi eggs are most suitable for mass rearing of these eupelmid egg parasitoids in biological control programs.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yong-Ming Chen
- Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide and Agricultural Bioengineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang, China
| | - Asim Iqbal
- Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide and Agricultural Bioengineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang, China
| | - Rui-E Lv
- Institute of Walnut, Longnan Economic Forest Research Institute, Wudu, China
| | - Xingeng Wang
- United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Beneficial Insects Introduction Research Unit, Newark, DE, USA
| | | | - Lian-Sheng Zang
- Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide and Agricultural Bioengineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang, China
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Challenges and opportunities for plant viruses under a climate change scenario. Adv Virus Res 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.aivir.2022.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
|
5
|
Moro D, Wengrat APGDS, Costa VA, Pozebon H, Tay WT, Bevilaqua JG, Castilhos LB, Padilha G, Ugalde GA, Filho AC, Guedes JVC, Arnemann JA. Integrative Techniques Confirms the Presence of Bemisia tabaci Parasitoids: Encarsia formosa, Encarsia porteri and Eretmocerus mundus (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) on Soybean and Tomatoes in South Brazil. NEOTROPICAL ENTOMOLOGY 2021; 50:593-604. [PMID: 33835382 DOI: 10.1007/s13744-021-00873-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2020] [Accepted: 03/19/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Parasitoid wasps from the Aphelinidae family (Hymenoptera) are important control agents of Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius, 1889) cryptic species, both through reproduction and feeding processes. Identifying native parasitoid species within agricultural systems affected by Bemisia whitefly species is the first step to developing guidelines for the creation and release of biological control agents aiming at this highly damaging pest species complex. Taxonomic and phylogenetic analyses based on morphological and molecular characters, respectively, confirmed the occurrence of Encarsia formosa (Gahan, 1924) in greenhouse tomatoes from Santa Maria, Encarsia porteri (Mercet, 1928) in open-field soybean from Santa Maria, and Eretmocerus mundus Mercet, 1931 in greenhouse tomatoes from São José do Hortêncio, all within Rio Grande do Sul state (South Brazil). This is the first report of En. formosa, En. porteri and Er. mundus parasitising B. tabaci in South Brazil, and the first En. porteri partial mtCOI gene sequence being reported and characterised. The high temperature inside the tomato greenhouses can be a possible cause for the predominance of Er. mundus in São José do Hortêncio, and sex ratios in the surveyed populations point to female and male prevalence within Encarsia and Eretmocerus genera, respectively. The combined use of taxonomic and molecular characterisation highlights the importance of combining both morphological and molecular approaches in the assessment of previously unidentified whitefly parasitoids.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Moro
- Depto de Defesa Fitossanitária, Univ Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), Santa Maria, Brazil.
| | | | | | - Henrique Pozebon
- Depto de Defesa Fitossanitária, Univ Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), Santa Maria, Brazil
| | - We Tek Tay
- Dept of Applied BioSciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | | | | | - Guilherme Padilha
- Depto de Defesa Fitossanitária, Univ Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), Santa Maria, Brazil
| | | | | | | | - Jonas André Arnemann
- Depto de Defesa Fitossanitária, Univ Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), Santa Maria, Brazil
| |
Collapse
|