First report ofCotesia vanessae(Hymenoptera: Braconidae) in North America

Abstract

Abstract-We report for the first time the occurrence of the well-known Eurasian and north African parasitoid Cotesia vanessae (Reinhard) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) in North America. Specimens were reared from Chrysodeixis chalcites (Esper) and Trichoplusia ni (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) recovered from several locations in southwestern Ontario, Canada, and detected by DNA sequencing from one Autographa californica (Speyer) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in southern Alberta, Canada.Résumé-Nous rapportons pour la première fois la présence du parasitoïde Cotesia vanessae (Reinhard) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) en Amérique du Nord. Des spécimens ont été élevés à partir de Chrysodeixis chalcites (Esper) et Trichoplusia ni (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) collectés à plusieurs localités au sud-est de l'Ontario, Canada, et détecté par une séquence d'ADN provenant d'un Autographa californica (Speyer) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) collecté à une localité au sud de l'Alberta, Canada. Ce parasitoïde n'a été reporté auparavant qu'en Europe, Asie et Afrique.

Potential host range of Cotesia vanessae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a parasitoid new to North America and a possible biological control agent of noctuid pest species

“…This was defined as the percentage of caterpillars that experienced parasitism from which parasitoid larvae emerged (excluding caterpillars that died without producing parasitoids). Third-instar C. vanessae larvae typically emerge en masse from the host to immediately begin spinning cocoons in which they pupate and subsequently emerge as adults (see video entitled 'Parasitoid larvae (Cotesia vanessae) emerging from their caterpillar host (Trichoplusia ni)' at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCDbJMLE2JU) (Hervet et al, 2014). Thus, we measured the following six additional parameters: parameter 2 = time for egg + larval development (i.e., the number of days from parasitism to emergence of larvae); parameter 3 = time for pupal development (i.e., the number of days from larval emergence from the host to emergence of adults from the cocoon mass); parameter 4 = time for egg-to-adult development (i.e., parameter 2 + parameter 3); parameter 5 = brood size (i.e., the number of adult parasitoids from an individual host, excluding adults that failed to emerge from cocoons); parameter 6 = average adult mass per brood (i.e., for each brood, the average mass of individual parasitoids dried at 20 °C and 20% relative humidity for at least 1 month); parameter 7 = total adult mass per brood (i.e., parameter 5 × parameter 6).…”

Biological Control Options for the Golden Twin-Spot Moth, Chrysodeixis chalcites (Esper) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Banana Crops of the Canary Islands

“…The most important larval parasitoid was an unidentified solitary species of the genus Cotesia Cameron (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) recorded in numerous localities of Tenerife and La Palma ( Table 5 ). Several Cotesia species are of interest as biological control agents of pest caterpillars [ 48 ]. However, despite the economic and scientific importance of Cotesia , little is known about its systematics [ 49 ].…”

Food web associations and effect of trophic resources and environmental factors on parasitoids expanding their host range into non‐native hosts

“…This parasitoid has been reported on C. chalcites in The Netherlands where trials on efficacy to control this pest have been conducted (Bloemhard & Messelink, 2005). Cotesia vanessae is easy to rear under artificial conditions as its gregariousness allows producing up to 165 individuals per larva (Hervet et al, 2014).…”

“…In southern Ontario, Canada, the cabbage looper, Trichoplusia ni (H€ ubner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae, Plusiinae), which is a Neo-tropical species native to North America that migrates every year to southern Ontario from southern USA, has been recently accompanied by the spreading of the old-world tomato looper, Chrysodeixis chalcites (Esper) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), and by the non-native braconid larval parasitoid Cotesia vanessae (Reinhard) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) in field vegetable crops Hervet et al, 2014). Therefore, in this study we will: (1) establish the food web interactions developed by larval parasitoids present in field and vegetable greenhouse crops in southwestern Ontario after the invasion of C. chalcites and C. vanessae, (2) demonstrate whether the presence of the parasitoids expanding their host range into novel insect hosts is predicted by trophic resources and environmental factors, and (3) find potential biocontrol agents for the management of T. ni and C. chalcites.…”