Developmental strategy and life history traits of Meteorus ictericus, a successful resident parasitoid of the exotic Light Brown Apple Moth in California

Effect of temperature on the reproductive biology ofPeristenus spretus(Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a biological control agent of the plant bugApolygus lucorum(Hemiptera: Miridae)

“…But for P. digoneutis, no positive relationship was found A c c e p t e d M a n u s c r i p t between longevity and female body size, nor any between lifetime fecundity and female body size (Haye et al, 2005). Moreover, host suitability (Rivers & Losinger, 2014) and temperature (Bazzocchi, Lanzoni, Burgio & Fiacconi, 2003) significantly affected female body size, and temperature showed an inverse relationship with body size (Bürgi & Mills, 2013). Our study found that hind tibia length of female P. spretus offspring decreased significantly with increasing rearing temperature from 15 to 27 °C, with no significant difference between 15 and 19 °C.…”

“…Many previous studies have found lifetime fecundity and female hind tibia length to be positively correlated (Bürgi & Mills, 2013;Harvey et al, 2001;Haye et al, 2005). It is assumed that larger female parasitoids live longer and produce more progeny than smaller females (Lauzière, Pérez-Lachaud & Brodeur, 2000;Sagarra, Vincent & Stewart, 2001).…”

“…Several biological attributes affect the potential effectiveness of parasitoids, such as development rate (Bürgi & Mills, 2013), larval survival (Qiu, Zhou, Luo & Xu, 2012), adult longevity (Winkler, Wäckers, Bukovinszkine-Kiss & Van Lenteren, 2006), sex ratio (Berndt & Wratten, 2005), fecundity (Jervis, Moe & Heimpel, 2012;Wakefield, Bell & Gatehouse, 2010), host specificity (Jenner, Kuhlmann, Miall, Cappuccino & Mason, 2014;Murray, Withers & Mansfield, 2010), and functional response (Latham & Mills, 2012;Luo, Li, Lu, Zhang, Haye, Kuhlmann & Wu, 2014b). The evaluation of a biological control agent requires the collection of detailed A c c e p t e d M a n u s c r i p t information on its life history traits, including aspects of immature stage development and the female's reproductive strategy (Haye, Broadbent, Whistlecraft, & Kuhlmann, 2005;Jervis et al, 2012).…”

Systematics and biological control

“…Based on morphological comparisons, the specimens appeared to be M. trachynotus Viereck, a native parasitoid known to attack leaf rollers. Moreover, M. ictericus is proving to be an important biological control agent for light brown apple moth (Bürgi and Mills, 2013). Andersen and Mills (2012) compared nuclear and mitochondrial sequences from specimens at the University of California Berkeley to specimens reared from recent larval collections of the moth as well as published records in GenBank and found that the field-collected specimens of the wasp were Meteorus ictericus (Nees), a species native to Europe, which had never been recorded from North America.…”

Natural resistance of soybean cultivars to the soybean looper larva Chrysodeixis includens (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

“…Cultivars that slow the development of insect pests or adversely affect their biological variables also extend their exposure to abiotic and biotic environmental adversities, such as natural parasitism in the field (Bürgi & Mills, 2013). An additional possible advantage is the reduction of the need for insecticide application during the crop cycle in the field, lowering environmental contamination (Hoffmann-Campo et al, 2012).…”