CYSTIPHORA SONCHI (BREMI) (DIPTERA: CECIDOMYIIDAE), A NEW BIOLOGICAL CONTROL AGENT ESTABLISHED ON THE WEED PERENNIAL SOW-THISTLE (SONCHUS ARVENSIS L.) (COMPOSITAE) IN CANADA

1989 ◽  
Vol 121 (9) ◽  
pp. 781-791 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.P. Peschken ◽  
A.S. McClay ◽  
J.L. Derby ◽  
R. DeClerck

AbstractAspects of the biology of Cystiphora sonchi (Bremi) (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) were investigated and releases were made on perennial sow-thistle (Sonchus arvensis L.) (Compositae) in six provinces of Canada. Fecundity, determined by dissection of newly emerged females, averaged 86.2 eggs. Cystiphora sonchi became established in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Nova Scotia, and produced three generations at Vegreville, Alberta. In fall, mature larvae enter the soil, and most can pupate in temperatures of 4 °C. The gall fly thrives in shady and sunny locations. Cattle caused considerable fly mortality by feeding on galled leaves of perennial sow-thistle. Extremely dry or moist soils reduced the number of adults that emerged from pupation and extremely moist soils increased the lengths of the pupation periods. Flooding caused greater mortality of pupae than of larvae but 2% of the larvae survived flooding up to 8 weeks.

1996 ◽  
Vol 128 (4) ◽  
pp. 775-776 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.S. McClay

The gall midge Cystiphora sonchi (Bremi) has been released and established in Alberta and other Canadian provinces as a biological control agent for the introduced weed perennial sow-thistle (Sonchus arvensis L.) (Peschken et al. 1989). Cystiphora sonchi oviposits in the expanding leaves of S. arvensis (DeClerck-Floate and Steeves 1995), where the-larvae form pustule galls, each containing a single larva. They pupate in a cocoon in the gall or sometimes in the soil after exiting from their galls. Adults are short-lived (usually 1 day or less) and do not feed (Peschken 1982). Under field conditions in Alberta, C. sonchi produces three generations a year (Peschken et al. 1989)


2002 ◽  
Vol 55 ◽  
pp. 433-433
Author(s):  
B.A. Gresham ◽  
M.K. Kay ◽  
W. Faulds ◽  
T.M. Withers

Author(s):  
Fazila Yousuf ◽  
Peter A. Follett ◽  
Conrad P. D. T. Gillett ◽  
David Honsberger ◽  
Lourdes Chamorro ◽  
...  

AbstractPhymastichus coffea LaSalle (Hymenoptera:Eulophidae) is an adult endoparasitoid of the coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei (Ferrari) (Coleoptera:Curculionidae:Scolytinae), which has been introduced in many coffee producing countries as a biological control agent. To determine the effectiveness of P. coffea against H. hampei and environmental safety for release in Hawaii, we investigated the host selection and parasitism response of adult females to 43 different species of Coleoptera, including 23 Scolytinae (six Hypothenemus species and 17 others), and four additional Curculionidae. Non-target testing included Hawaiian endemic, exotic and beneficial coleopteran species. Using a no-choice laboratory bioassay, we demonstrated that P. coffea was only able to parasitize the target host H. hampei and four other adventive species of Hypothenemus: H. obscurus, H. seriatus, H. birmanus and H. crudiae. Hypothenemus hampei had the highest parasitism rate and shortest parasitoid development time of the five parasitized Hypothenemus spp. Parasitism and parasitoid emergence decreased with decreasing phylogenetic relatedness of the Hypothenemus spp. to H. hampei, and the most distantly related species, H. eruditus, was not parasitized. These results suggest that the risk of harmful non-target impacts is low because there are no native species of Hypothenemus in Hawaii, and P. coffea could be safely introduced for classical biological control of H. hampei in Hawaii.


2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tabassum Ara Khanum ◽  
Salma Javed

Abstract Background Stored grain products suffer a considerable economic loss due to insect infestations. The resistance of pests to insecticide, and residues on crops are produced by the application of insecticide. Nowadays, incremental necessity has been occurred to find out alternatives to chemicals. As biological control agents, entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) attract attention increasingly in the research area recently. Results The aim of the study was to evaluate the pathogenicity of Pakistani isolates Steinernema bifurcatum and S. affine against the stored grain pests, Tribolium castaneum and Lasioderma serricorne, under laboratory conditions. Suspensions of nematodes were applied at 4 different concentrations 0, 50, 100, and 200 IJs/ml and 3 variable temperatures 15, 30, and 45°C. Pathogenicity rate was recorded after 48 h of application. The larval stage is found more susceptible than the adult. At 200 IJs, S. bifurcatum showed high mortality of L. serricorne larva (92%) and T. castaneum larva (93%), whereas S. affine showed 90 and 95% mortality of L. serricorne and T. castaneum larva, respectively, at 200 IJs. The results revealed that both species of EPN were able to control and reproduce on L. serricorne and T. castaneum. Maximum mortality was recorded at 45 °C from S. bifurcatum whereas S. affine at 15 °C. Conclusions Therefore, S. bifurcatum and S. affine could be suggested as a biological control agent for hot and cold climatic zones, respectively.


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