Encarsia species (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) of Australia and the Pacific Islands attacking Bemisia tabaci and Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) – a pictorial key and descriptions of four new species

2001 ◽  
Vol 91 (5) ◽  
pp. 369-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Schmidt ◽  
I.D. Naumann ◽  
P.J. De Barro

AbstractAfter the recent introduction of the pest whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) biotype B into Australia, research was undertaken to study the parasitoids of the long established native B. tabaci and Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Westwood). The genus Encarsia species which are important biological control agents of whiteflies and hard scales. The taxonomy of the Encarsia species attacking B. tabaci and T. vaporariorum in Australia and the Pacific Islands is revised. DNA sequencing of the 28S D2 ribosomal DNA was used characterize species. Sixteen species are recognized, with 12 occurring in Australia, eight in the Pacific region, and four in both regions. All except one species (E. formosa Gahan) are new records for Australia. Four species are described as new from Australia: E. accenta & Naumann sp. n., E. adusta Schmidt & Naumann sp. n., E. oakeyensis Schmidt & Naumann sp. n., and E. ustulata Schmidt & Naumann sp. n. Diagnostic descriptions are given for all species and each species is illustrated. pictorial key is provided to allow the identification of species by non-specialists.

Intropica ◽  
2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eugenia S. Ortega ◽  
Cecilia A. Veggiani Aybar ◽  
Ana L. Ávila ◽  
Carmen Reguilón

Bemisia tabaci has become one of the major pests of economic importance that affects several crops worldwide. Among their natural enemies are found the Chrysopidae family, with larvae predators of different pests resulting very effective biological control agents. In order to contribute to possible use of this beneficial insect in B. tabaci biological control, the developmental time and survival of the immature stages of Chrysopodes (Chrysopodes) lineafrons was determined, as well as longevity and oviposition of the adults fed with eggs of B. tabaci. Chrysopodes (C.) lineafrons adults were collected in tomato crops in Lules department, Tucumán province. To determine the developmental duration for each instars and survival of the larvae, 90 eggs of C. (C.) lineafrons were randomly selected, of which only 71 eggs hatched; of these, 34 larvae were fed with B. tabaci eggs and 37 with Sitotroga cerealella eggs, used as control. The oviposition and longevity of the adults were recorded, both fed with the two preys. Chrysopodes (C.) lineafrons larvae consumed an average 127.04 (± 40.2) eggs of B. tabaci and 44 (± 19.04) eggs of S. cerealella per day. Mean developmental time of C. (C.) lineafrons fed with B. tabaci eggs was 45 (± 3.54) days and 35 (± 5.04) days with S. cerealella eggs. Survival of immature stages, number of eggs per adults and their longevity were higher when C. (C.) lineafrons were fed with S. cerealella eggs than with B. tabaci eggs. Chrysopodes (C.) lineafrons has proved to be an efficient predator which would represent an excellent tool for B. tabaci biological control in tomato crops.


2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 244-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
I.D. Paterson ◽  
Q. Paynter ◽  
S. Neser ◽  
F.J. Akpabey ◽  
W. Orapa ◽  
...  

Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 583
Author(s):  
Carl C. Christensen ◽  
Robert H. Cowie ◽  
Norine W. Yeung ◽  
Kenneth A. Hayes

Classic biological control of pest non-marine mollusks has a long history of disastrous outcomes, and despite claims to the contrary, few advances have been made to ensure that contemporary biocontrol efforts targeting mollusks are safe and effective. For more than half a century, malacologists have warned of the dangers in applying practices developed in the field of insect biological control, where biocontrol agents are often highly host-specific, to the use of generalist predators and parasites against non-marine mollusk pests. Unfortunately, many of the lessons that should have been learned from these failed biocontrol programs have not been rigorously applied to contemporary efforts. Here, we briefly review the failures of past non-marine mollusk biocontrol efforts in the Pacific islands and their adverse environmental impacts that continue to reverberate across ecosystems. We highlight the fact that none of these past programs has ever been demonstrated to be effective against targeted species, and at least two (the snails Euglandina spp. and the flatworm Platydemus manokwari) are implicated in the extinction of hundreds of snail species endemic to Pacific islands. We also highlight other recent efforts, including the proposed use of sarcophagid flies and nematodes in the genus Phasmarhabditis, that clearly illustrate the false claims that past bad practices are not being repeated. We are not making the claim that biocontrol programs can never be safe and effective. Instead, we hope that in highlighting the need for robust controls, clear and measurable definitions of success, and a broader understanding of ecosystem level interactions within a rigorous scientific framework are all necessary before claims of success can be made by biocontrol advocates. Without such amendments to contemporary biocontrol programs, it will be impossible to avoid repeating the failures of non-marine mollusk biocontrol programs to date.


2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-91
Author(s):  
Waheed Ali Panhwar ◽  
Kamran Ahmed Pathan ◽  
Abdul Manan Shaikh ◽  
Safdar Ali Ujjan ◽  
Javed Ahmed Ujan ◽  
...  

The longhorn beetles belongs to family Cerambycidae. The beetles are present in almost all ecosystems, except the ocean and Polar Regions. They are most the important biological control agents into agro-ecosystems. The beetles help in the biological control they eat extensive assortments of tree dwelling, soil dwelling insects and also eat caterpillars, maggots, aphids, bug, ants, wasp. Long horned beetles were gathered from different sites (agricultural fields and their surrounding vegetation) of district Naushahro Feroze with insect net (7.79 cm in diameter and 49.9 cm in length) and hand picking. A of 234 specimens were captured from October 2018 to July 2019. The material was identified into 07 species out of 06 genera. Of which Batocera rubus (Linnaeus, 1758), New Record from Sindh, Batocera rufomaculata (Charles De Geer, 1775), New Record from Sindh, Apriona cinerea (Chevrolat, 1852), New Record from Sindh, Archopalus exoticus (Sharp, 1905), New Record from Pakistan Macrotoma crenata (Fabricius, 1801), New Record from Pakistan, Prionus corpulantus (Bates, 1878) New Record from Sindh, Dorysthenes hugelii (Redtenbacher, 1848), New Record from Pakistan. The highest ratio of specimens were recorded from Mehrabpur and lowest ratio of specimens were recorded from Moro.


1973 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 211-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
J H Stapley

A significant advance in the control of rhinoceros beetle has been achieved by the use of a chemical attractant and virus infection. Premature nutfall, due to the bug Amblypelta cocophaga, has been effectively reduced by replacing ground-nesting ants by tree-nesting ants, which are also inimical to another bug pest, Axiagastus. Biological control of coconut leaf beetle by the parasite Tetra-stichus brontispae is recommended except on young palms where it can be controlled chemically.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Muhammad Musa Khan ◽  
Ze-Yun Fan ◽  
Dylan O’Neill Rothenberg ◽  
Jing Peng ◽  
Muhammad Hafeez ◽  
...  

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation significantly affects insect life and, as a result, has been widely used to control different invertebrate pests. The current results demonstrate that when Bemisia tabaci first instar nymphs are exposed to UV-A light for 12, 24, 48, and 72 h, their developmental and biological parameters are negatively affected by UV-A exposure; the effect increased with an increase in exposure time. We hypothesized that UV-A light is compatible with other biological control agents. Results showed that when the entomopathogenic fungus Cordyceps fumosorosea was applied to third instar nymphs of B. tabaci previously exposed to UV-A light, the LC50 was 3.4% lower after 72 h of exposure to UV-A light compared to the control. However, when the fungus was exposed to UV-A light, its virulence decreased with an increase in UV-A exposure time. The parasitism rate of Encarsia formosa against 24 h UV-A-exposed third instar nymphs of B. tabaci increased while the adult emergence from parasitized nymphs was not affected after UV-A light exposure. Parasitism rate was significantly reduced however following E. formosa exposure to UV-A light; but again, adult emergence was not affected from parasitized nymphs. The percentage mortality of E. formosa increased with increasing exposure time to UV-A light. The enzyme activity of SOD, CAT, GST, and AChE and the energy reserve contents were negatively affected due to UV-A exposure. Collectively, this study has demonstrated that UV-A light significantly suppresses the immune system of B. tabaci and that UV-A light is compatible with other biological control agents if it is applied separately from the biological agent.


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