Investigating Biological Control Agents for Controlling Invasive Populations of the Mealybug Pseudococcus comstocki in France

Abstract

Pseudococcus comstocki (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) is a mealybug species native to Eastern Asia and present as an invasive pest in northern Italy and southern France since the start of the century. It infests apple and pear trees, grapevines and some ornamental trees. Biocontrol programmes against this pest proved successful in central Asia and North America in the second half of the 20th century. In this study, we investigated possible biocontrol agents against P. comstocki, with the aim of developing a biocontrol programme in France. We carried out systematic DNA-barcoding at each step in the search for a specialist parasitoid. First we characterised the French target populations of P. comstocki. We then identified the parasitoids attacking P. comstocki in France. Finally, we searched for foreign mealybug populations identified a priori as P. comstocki and surveyed their hymenopteran parasitoids. Three mealybug species (P. comstocki, P. viburni and P. cryptus) were identified during the survey, together with at least 16 different parasitoid taxa. We selected candidate biological control agent populations for use against P. comstocki in France, from the species Allotropa burrelli (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae) and Acerophagus malinus (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae). The coupling of molecular and morphological characterisation for both pests and natural enemies facilitated the programme development and the rejection of unsuitable or generalist parasitoids.

Old Parasitoids for New Mealybugs: Host Location Behavior and Parasitization Efficacy of Anagyrus vladimiri on Pseudococcus comstocki

“…Within the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) scenario, biological control agents (BCAs) such as predatory coccinellid beetles, e.g., Cryptolaemus montrouzieri (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) [9] as well as parasitic Hymenoptera, could provide useful tools. In this framework, Malausa et al [10] evaluated Allotropa burrelli Muesebeck (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae) and Acerophagus malinus (Gahan) (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) for the control of P. comstocki in France. An earlier study aimed at defining the complex of P. comstocki parasitoids in Italy includes two other species, Acerophagus maculipennis (Mercet) (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) and Anagyrus sp.…”

Natural enemies of armored scales (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) and soft scales (Hemiptera: Coccidae) in Chile: Molecular and morphological identification

“…Parasitoids were not crushed before extraction and the time period over which the Prepgem enzyme was allowed to act was extended beyond the manufacturer’s recommendations (2 h at 75°C rather than 30 minutes). The total volume of 1x Prepgem Buffer and enzyme used was 30 μL per individual [ 24 ].…”

Pre‐release host range determination of the parasitoid Allotropa burrelli for the biocontrol of Pseudococcus comstocki in France

“…The search for potential BCAs was based on previous successful biocontrol programmes in the former USSR (Kobakhidze, 1965) and the USA (Bartlett & Clancy, 1972;Haeussler & Clancy, 1944;Meyerdirk & Newell, 1979;Meyerdirk, Newell, & Warkentin, 1981), together with a worldwide survey based on DNA identification (Malausa et al, 2016).…”

“…The search for potential BCAs was based on previous successful biocontrol programmes in the former USSR (Kobakhidze, ) and the USA (Bartlett & Clancy, ; Haeussler & Clancy, ; Meyerdirk & Newell, ; Meyerdirk, Newell, & Warkentin, ), together with a worldwide survey based on DNA identification (Malausa et al., ). A combination of two gregarious parasitoids, Acerophagus malinus (Gahan) (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) (formerly Pseudaphycus malinus ) and Allotropa burrelli (Muesebeck) (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae) , which effectively controlled P. comstocki populations in California (Meyerdirk & Newell, ), was selected for biological control in France.…”