No abstract

The suitability of Trichogramma brassicae Bezd. (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) to control the silver Y moth, Autographa gamma (L.) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in spinach was investigated under greenhouse and Weld conditions. Two strains of T. brassicae were selected to study host searching eYciency and dispersal ability of the wasps on spinach. The experiments were conducted with deWned release densities. The results show that T. brassicae strain I failed to locate host eggs in all experiments. In contrast, T. brassicae strain II females were able to locate 37% of the exposed egg clusters in the greenhouse within 48 h. Individuals colonised rapidly at least an area of 0.25 m 2 . At distances up to 26 cm to the release point of the T. brassicae females, parasitization rate was 100%. Moreover, under Weld conditions silver Y moth eggs were exposed two times for 48 h on 12 experimental plots of 100 m 2 in two spinach Welds. During the Wrst exposure interval, i.e. 4 days after mass release of T. brassicae strain II, overall parasitization rates reached 20% on both Welds. Furthermore parasitization rates still reached 16 and 19% during the second exposure interval, i.e. 9 days after natural enemy release, indicating a constant Trichogramma activity over time. Parasitization rates were highest in the close vicinity of the release point, i.e. 86%, whereas 6.5 m away the mean parasitization rate decreased to 3%. In conclusion results indicate a high potential of T. brassicae strain II as antagonist of A. gamma. Nevertheless the dispersal ability of T. brassicae strain II was limited, but adjustment of release densities and techniques might compensate this disadvantage.

In spite of the fact that since the end of the eighties, the horse chestnut leafminer, Cameraria ohridella, has established itself throughout Europe, native predators such as ants and birds are not attuned to this neozoic species. In contrast, several parasitic wasp species already started to exploit the invasive horse chestnut leafminer, but until now parasitation rates are quite low, mainly because of asynchrony in the lifecycles of parasitoids and host. Only the removal of leaf litter, in which pupae hibernate, is at the moment a strategy to reduce the infestation level in the next year. Unfortunately, not only hibernating horse chestnut leafminers but also parasitoids are removed, and important resources for biocontrol are unused. In the current study, we investigated the potential efficiency of the horse chestnut leafminer parasitoid complex extracted from leaf litter in defined environments. Parasitoids were released at different densities to investigate density dependence in parasitation rates.Although seven different species were released in our experiments, only Pnigalio agraules turned out to be responsible for biocontrol of C. ohridella. We recorded parasitation rates of up to 35%. Overall, parasitation rates were independent of the leafminer density but increased fourfold if ten times more parasitoid individuals were released. Unfortunately, none of the parasitoid species could be established in the experimental units in the long run. Results are compared to other parasitoid-leafminer systems, and promotion of horse chestnut leafminer parasitoids to support natural selection and biological control of the horse chestnut leafminer is discussed.