Influence of host size on parasitism by Aphytis chrysomphali and A. melinus (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) in Mediterranean populations of California red scale Aonidiella aurantii (Hemiptera: Diaspididae)

Employing evolutionary theory to improve biological pest control: Causes of non-adaptive sex allocation behavior in parasitoid wasps and implications

“…For example, a parasitoid species with an absolute oviposition threshold will not be able to respond immediately to changes in host size distribution. In the field, hosts vary in size temporarily or spatially, and in many cases, hosts larger than the threshold size desired to lay female eggs are scarce or even unavailable during certain periods of the year (Luck & Nunney 1999;Pekas, Aguilar, Tena, & Garcia-Marí 2010;Beltrà, Soto, & Tena 2011). Under these circumstances, female parasitoids with an absolute threshold will not be able to produce female offspring and, consequently, fail to build up populations.…”

Dispersal of Aphytis melinus (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) after augmentative releases in citrus orchards

“…Butternut) (Raciti et al, 2003). In order to keep background parasitism by naturally occurring A. melinus low, the trial was carried out in a period (June-July) when the parasitoid is scarce in the field (Lizzio et al, 1998;Siscaro et al, 1999) and California red scale is mainly present as virgin females, which is the preferred instar of the parasitoid (Luck & Podoler, 1985;Heimpel et al, 1997;Pekas et al, 2010a).…”

“…Heavily infested fruit may be downgraded in the packinghouse and, if population levels are high, trees can be seriously damaged. Aphytis melinus effectiveness could depend on the scale careful monitoring, on the use of selective insecticides to control other pests (Grafton-Cardwell et al, 2006;Suma et al, 2009;Planes et al, 2012;Vanaclocha et al, 2012), on the host instars available and their size (Luck & Podoler, 1985;Pekas et al, 2010a), on ant activity (James et al, 1997;Pekas et al, 2010b), on the fitness of the released insects (Vasquez & Morse, 2012) or on environmental conditions (DeBach & Sisojevic, 1960).…”

Ants, pests and natural enemies in Mediterranean citrus. Ecological interactions and practical implications for biological control

“…Honeydew feeding enhances the longevity and realized-fecundity of A. melinus (Tena et al, 2013b). The species of our study, Aphytis chrysomphali Mercet (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae), is native to the Mediterranean and is one of the most important parasitoids of CRS (Pekas et al, 2010a). Most probably it also feeds on honeydew in the field, though this has never been demonstrated.…”