scholarly journals  Gryon aetherium Talamas (Hymenoptera, Scelionidae): Parasitoid of Bagrada hilaris (Burmeister) (Hemiptera, Pentatomidae) Adventive in Chile

2021 ◽  
Vol 87 ◽  
pp. 493-501
Author(s):  
N. Rocío Rojas-Gálvez ◽  
Elijah Talamas ◽  
Marta V. Albornoz ◽  
M. Fernanda Flores ◽  
Wilson Barros-Parada ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control ◽  
South America ◽  
Biological Control Agent ◽  
Parasitoid Wasp ◽  
Molecular Data ◽  
Control Agent ◽  
Stink Bug ◽  
Taxonomic Treatment ◽  
Morphological And Molecular Data

A parasitoid wasp, Gryon aetherium Talamas (Hymenoptera, Scelionidae), was reared from eggs of the invasive stink bug Bagrada hilaris (Burmeister) (Hemiptera, Pentatomidae) in Chile. The identification of G. aetherium, which is under study as a biological control agent, was made with morphological and molecular data in the context of a recent taxonomic treatment of this species. The presence of an adventive population of G. aetherium in South America has implications for biological control of B. hilaris in Chile, and other countries on the continent, where this stink bug may become a pest.

scholarly journals Psix striaticeps (Dodd) (Hymenoptera, Scelionidae): an Old World parasitoid of stink bug eggs arrives in Florida, USA

2021 ◽  
Vol 87 ◽  
pp. 503-521
Author(s):  
Sarah Birkmire ◽  
Cory Penca ◽  
Elijah J. Talamas ◽  
Matthew R. Moore ◽  
Amanda C. Hodges
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control ◽  
Biological Control Agent ◽  
Parasitoid Wasp ◽  
Egg Parasitoid ◽  
Control Agent ◽  
Western Hemisphere ◽  
Stink Bug ◽  
Stink Bugs ◽  
Old World ◽  
Piezodorus Guildinii

Psix striaticeps (Dodd) is an egg-parasitoid wasp previously known only from the Old World. We report this species from twelve counties in Florida, which are the first records in the Western Hemisphere. It was collected in yellow cylinder traps and reared from the eggs of three stink bug species: Nezara viridula L., Chinavia marginata (Palisot de Beauvois), and Piezodorus guildinii (Westwood). A COI barcode analysis found a 100% match between the Floridian population and a specimen from South Africa. The prospects of using Ps. striaticeps as a biological control agent against exotic stink bugs are discussed.

Complex diversity in a mainly tropical group of ant parasitoids: Revision of the Orasema stramineipes species group (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Eucharitidae)

Zootaxa ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4401 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
ROGER A. BURKS ◽  
JOHN M. HERATY ◽  
CHRYSALYN DOMINGUEZ ◽  
JASON L. MOTTERN
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control Agent ◽  
Sister Group ◽  
Molecular Data ◽  
Species Group ◽  
Control Agent ◽  
Wasmannia Auropunctata ◽  
Secondary Infections ◽  
Tropical America ◽  
Morphological And Molecular Data ◽  
The Tropics

Twenty-nine species are recognized in the Orasema stramineipes species group, including 22 new species in what is now the most diverse species group of the New World ant-parasitoid genus Orasema Cameron. Orasema aenea Gahan syn. n. is synonymized with O. freychei (Gemignani), the holotype of which has been rediscovered. Orasema smithi Howard syn. n. is synonymized with Orasema minutissima Howard. Orasema violacea Gemignani syn. n. and its replacement name Orasema gemignanii De Santis syn. n. are synonymized with O. worcesteri (Girault). Twenty-two species are described as new: O. arimbome Dominguez, Heraty & Burks n. sp., O. carchi Heraty, Burks & Dominguez n. sp., and the following 20 species by Burks, Heraty & Dominguez: O. chunpi n. sp., O. cozamalotl n. sp., O. evansi n. sp., O. hyarimai n. sp., O. kaspi n. sp., O. kulli n. sp., O. llanthu n. sp., O. llika n. sp., O. mati n. sp., O. nyamo n. sp., O. pirca n. sp., O. pisi n. sp., O. qillu n. sp., O. qincha n. sp., O. rikra n. sp., O. taku n. sp., O. tapi n. sp., O. torrensi n. sp., O. woolleyi n. sp., and O. yaax n. sp. The stramineipes-group has much greater diversity in tropical America than outside the tropics, and is much more diverse than its sister-group, the susanae-group, which is mainly present in temperate regions of Argentina. A hypothesis of phylogenetic relationships is proposed based on an analysis of 28S-D2 rDNA and cytochrome oxidase I (COI) for 14 stramineipes-group species. Species concepts were established using both morphological and molecular data. Most species in the stramineipes-group have a tropical distribution, with only a few species in temperate regions. Ant hosts for the group include Pheidole Westwood, Wasmannia Forel, and possibly Solenopsis Westwood (Formicidae: Myrmicinae). Orasema minutissima is a common parasitoid of Wasmannia auropunctata Roger in the Caribbean and has the potential to be a biological control agent in other areas of the world. Two distinct size morphs are recognized for O. minutissima, which are correlated with attacking either Wasmannia (small morph) or different castes of Pheidole (medium to large size morphs). Some species of Orasema have been regarded as pests due to scarring or secondary infections of leaves or fruit of banana, yerba mate or blueberry, but outbreaks are rare and the threat is usually temporary. 

scholarly journals Two in one: cryptic species discovered in biological control agent populations using molecular data and crossbreeding experiments

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (17) ◽  
pp. 6139-6150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iain D. Paterson ◽  
Rosie Mangan ◽  
Douglas A. Downie ◽  
Julie A. Coetzee ◽  
Martin P. Hill ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control ◽  
Cryptic Species ◽  
Biological Control Agent ◽  
Molecular Data ◽  
Control Agent

scholarly journals Unexpected parasitism of Douglas-fir seed chalcid limits biocontrol options for invasive Douglas-fir in New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-77
Author(s):  
Sonia Lee ◽  
Simon V. Fowler ◽  
Claudia Lange ◽  
Lindsay A. Smith ◽  
Alison M. Evans
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Seed Production ◽  
Biocontrol Agent ◽  
Biological Control Agent ◽  
Parasitoid Wasp ◽  
Control Agent ◽  
Douglas Fir ◽  
Seed Predator ◽  
High Level

Douglas-fir seed chalcid (DFSC) Megastigmus spermotrophus, a small (3 mm long) host-specific seed-predatory wasp, was accidentally introduced into New Zealand in the 1920s. Concern over DFSC reducing Douglas-fir seed production in New Zealand led to an attempt at biocontrol in 1955 with the release, but failed establishment, of the small (2.5 mm long) parasitoid wasp, Mesopolobus spermotrophus. We investigated why DFSC causes little destruction of Douglas-fir seed in New Zealand (usually <20%) despite the apparent absence of major natural enemies. Douglas-fir seed collections from 13 New Zealand sites yielded the seed predator (DFSC) but also potential parasitoids, which were identified using morphology and partial COI DNA sequencing. DFSC destroyed only 0.15% of Douglas-fir seed. All parasitoids were identified as the pteromalid wasp, Mes. spermotrophus, the host-specific biocontrol agent released in 1955. Total parasitism was 48.5%, but levels at some sites approached 90%, with some evidence of density-dependence. The discovery of the parasitoid Mes. spermotrophus could indicate that the biocontrol agent released in 1955 did establish after all. Alternatively, Mes. spermotrophus could have arrived accidentally in more recent importations of Douglas-fir seed. The high level of parasitism of DFSC by Mes. spermotrophus is consistent with DFSC being under successful biological control in New Zealand. Suppression of DFSC populations will benefit commercial Douglas-fir seed production in New Zealand, but it also represents the likely loss of a potential biological control agent for wilding Douglas-fir.

scholarly journals First evidence of Ixodiphagus hookeri (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) parasitization in Finnish castor bean ticks (Ixodes ricinus)

2019 ◽  
Vol 79 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 395-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jani Jukka Sormunen ◽  
Ella Sippola ◽  
Kari Mikael Kaunisto ◽  
Eero Juhani Vesterinen ◽  
Ilari Eerikki Sääksjärvi
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control ◽  
Ixodes Ricinus ◽  
Biological Control Agent ◽  
Parasitoid Wasp ◽  
Control Agent ◽  
Northern Europe ◽  
Infection Rates ◽  
Ixodiphagus Hookeri ◽  
The Status ◽  
Initial Discovery

AbstractIxodiphagus hookeri (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) is a parasitoid wasp specialized in parasitizing the larvae and nymphs of ticks (Acari: Ixodidae). As parasitized ticks die prior to reproduction, I. hookeri is seen as a prime biological control agent candidate. Despite this, little is known of their occurrence or ecology in northern Europe. The main aim of the current study was to determine whether adult wasps or parasitized ticks can be found from a tick-infested island in southwestern Finland, using field collections and molecular methods. Following the initial discovery of an adult I. hookeri female on Seili Island, we set out to collect further specimens via sweep netting and Malaise trappings between May and October 2017. Furthermore, 1310 Ixodes ricinus (1220 nymphs, 90 adults) collected from the island during 2012–2014 were screened for I. hookeri DNA using qPCR. Whereas no further wasp specimens could be collected via sweep netting or Malaise trappings, I. hookeri DNA was consistently detected in I. ricinus nymphs (annual minimum infection rates in 2012, 2013, and 2014: 2.3, 0.4, and 0.5%, respectively), whereas all adult samples were negative. Although the annually repeated detections of parasitized ticks suggest that the wasp inhabits the island, further field and molecular surveys are needed to more comprehensively determine the status and stability of the population.

Physiological Host Range of Trissolcus Mitsukurii, A Candidate Biological Control Agent of Halyomorpha Halys

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucrezia Giovannini ◽  
Giuseppino Sabbatini-Peverieri ◽  
Leonardo Marianelli ◽  
Gabriele Rondoni ◽  
Eric Conti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control ◽  
Host Range ◽  
Biocontrol Agent ◽  
Biological Control Agent ◽  
Classical Biological Control ◽  
Egg Parasitoid ◽  
Control Agent ◽  
Egg Load ◽  
Halyomorpha Halys ◽  
Stink Bug

Abstract The invasive stink bug Halyomorpha halys is a severe agricultural pest of worldwide importance, and chemical insecticides are largely sprayed for the control of its populations. Negative impacts and several failures in chemical pest management led to consider classical biological control as one of the most promising methods in a long-term perspective. The Asian egg parasitoid Trissolcus japonicus is the main candidate biocontrol agent of H. halys, but more recently a second Asian egg parasitoid, Trissolcus mitsukurii, is getting attention after adventive populations were found on H. halys egg masses in Europe. Before recommending the use of T. mitsukurii for biological control of H. halys, a risk analysis is necessary and therefore here we present the first study on the fundamental physiological host range of this parasitoid in Europe. Tests conducted with T. mitsukurii on different hemipterans, using three different experimental designs, revealed a broad physiological host range, comparable with the host range displayed by T. japonicus under similar laboratory conditions. Specifically, in addition to its coevolved host H. halys, T. mitsukurii successfully parasitized the majority of tested pentatomid species and one scutellerid, although with highly variable emergence rates. Host egg sizes positively affected parasitoid size and female egg load. Further studies, testing more complex systems that involve olfactory cues from host and host plants, will simulate different aspects of the parasitoid host location behavior under field conditions, allowing in-depth evaluation of the possible risks associated with the use of T. mitsukurii as a biocontrol agent of H. halys.

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