Courtship and Mating Behavior of Eucelatoria bryani (Diptera: Tachinidae), a Larval Parasitoid of Heliothis Species (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

AbstractSmallholder crops (sunflower, maize, sorghum and cotton) were grown in experimental plots at seven sites, representing different agricultural zones of Kenya, over four seasons. Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) (formerly Heliothis armigera) only occasionally achieved population densities sufficient to cause obvious damage to the crops, and was virtually absent from the coastal sites. At the inland sites, infestation and mortality levels varied greatly. Information is presented on the incidence of H. armigera, and the identity, distribution and frequency of its common parasitoids and (potential) predators, sampled in the experimental plots. Trichogrammatoidea spp., egg parasitoids, and Linnaemya longirostris (Macquart), a tachinid late-larval parasitoid, were the most common parasitoid species, but total percentage parasitism was rather low. Of the large complex of predators, only anthocorids and ants (predominantly Pheidole spp., Myrmicaria spp. and Camponotus spp.) were sufficiently common and widespread to be of importance in suppressing H. armigera. The abundance of predators fluctuated widely between sites, but anthocorids were most abundant at the western sites.

Download Full-text

Observations on the Function of Male Scent Brushes and Mating Behavior in Leucania separata W. and Mamestra brassicae L. : Lepidoptera, Noctuidae

Applied Entomology and Zoology ◽

10.1303/aez.12.347 ◽

1977 ◽

Vol 12 (4) ◽

pp. 347-351 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Kazuo HIRAI

Keyword(s):

Mating Behavior ◽

Mamestra Brassicae ◽

Male Scent ◽

Lepidoptera Noctuidae

Download Full-text

Host suitability of Trichoplusia ni and Chrysodeixis chalcites (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) for native and nonnative parasitoids expanding their host range

The Canadian Entomologist ◽

10.4039/tce.2020.60 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-13

Author(s):

Henry Murillo Pacheco ◽

Sherah Vanlaerhoven ◽

M. Angeles Marcos Garcia

Keyword(s):

Trichoplusia Ni ◽

Sublethal Effects ◽

Host Suitability ◽

Dynamic Factor ◽

Larval Parasitoid ◽

Native Parasitoids ◽

Novel Host ◽

Chrysodeixis Chalcites ◽

Native Host ◽

Lepidoptera Noctuidae

Abstract We evaluated the host suitability and related traits of Trichoplusia ni Hübner (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and Chrysodeixis chalcites Esper (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), which is nonnative in North America, for the native parasitoids Campoletis sonorensis Cameron (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) and Copidosoma floridanum Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), and the nonnative parasitoid Cotesia vanessae Reinhard (Hymenoptera: Braconidae). For the larval parasitoid C. sonorensis and C. vanessae trials, three-day-old larvae of both hosts were used, whereas one-day-old eggs of both hosts were used for the egg–larval parasitoid C. floridanum trial. For suitability parameters on each host exposed separately to each of the three parasitoid species, we measured parasitoid emergence (parasitoid success), parasitoids that did not emerge (parasitoid cocoon mortality), the proportion of male offspring (parasitoid sex ratio), hosts that developed into moths (host success), hosts that died without developing into moths or producing a parasitoid (host mortality), parasitoids emerging from cocoon masses (brood size), and the developmental times of parasitoids and hosts. For C. sonorensis, the native host and the nonnative host were found to be similarly suitable. For C. vanessae, the native host was more suitable than the nonnative host. For C. floridanum, the native host was suitable, whereas the nonnative host was not; however, sublethal effects on both the native and nonnative hosts were observed. The differential suitability of the hosts observed in this study contributes to the understanding of this measure as a dynamic factor in the expansion of parasitoids into novel host species.

Download Full-text