Potential for biological control of the vegetable leafminer, Liriomyza sativae (Diptera: Agromyzidae), in Australia with parasitoid wasps

Abstract

The vegetable leafminer, Liriomyza sativae Blanchard, poses a risk to vegetable and nursery production in mainland Australia since established in Cape York in 2015. Effective control overseas depends on maximising the impact of natural enemies. Problems with polyphagous Liriomyza pest species typically result from the destruction of their parasitoids by excessive use of non‐selective insecticides. Field studies are reviewed to identify parasitoid species involved in the biological control of L. sativae in open‐air and glasshouse production internationally and to assess the current knowledge of parasitoids of agromyzids in Australia. Overseas, invading Liriomyza populations have frequently been exploited by endemic parasitoids (often found on non‐pest agromyzid species), and non‐crop hosts have played a role as reservoirs of these parasitoids. The few published Australian field studies on the occurrence of agromyzid flies and their parasitoids show a large community of wasps attacking agromyzids, with species mainly from the Eulophidae, Pteromalidae and Braconidae. The most abundant recorded species are two cosmopolitan eulophid species, Hemiptarsenus varicornis (Girault) and Diglyphus isaea (Walker), and four Australian species: two eulophid species, Zagrammosoma latilineatum Ubaidillah and Closterocerus mirabilis Edwards & La Salle, one pteromalid species, Trigonogastrella sp., and one braconid species, Opius cinerariae Fischer, for which there is little biological information. One deficiency in the known assemblage in Australia is the absence of parasitoids from the Eucoilinae (Hymenoptera: Figitidae), a subfamily with several abundant species attacking agromyzids overseas. The composition and impact of the endemic parasitoid assemblage in Australia on populations of L. sativae needs to be assessed adequately in the field before the importation of additional exotic parasitoid species is contemplated. Overseas, two species, D. isaea and Dacnusa sibirica Telenga, are reared commercially for augmentative biological control, although the relatively high cost of production has restricted their release to protected cropping situations. Knowledge gaps remain locally about the taxonomy, distribution, host range and life cycle of parasitoids, and their potential impact on L. sativae.

Variation in sex ratio of the leafminerPhytomyza plantaginisGoureau (Diptera: Agromyzidae) from Australia

“…2008; Ridland et al . 2020). A unisexual P. plantaginis population could act as an important reservoir for parasitoids like Diglyphus isaea by providing a stable source of host larvae.…”

Tiny wasps, huge diversity – A review of German Pteromalidae with new generic and species records (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea)

“…Only few species seem to attack hosts from other insect orders, like the northern European Seladerma aeneum (Walker, 1833) attacking Lepidoptera of the family Nepticulidae or the genera Yusufia and the newly-recorded Ksenoplata attacking Coleoptera of the family Curculionidae and Bruchidae , respectively. Especially some of the dipteran hosts can cause great damage when introduced to non-native regions; therefore, some Miscogastrinae like Cyrtogaster vulgaris Walker, 1833 and Halticoptera daci Silvestri, 1914 have been used for biological control ( Bouček and Rasplus 1991 , Mohamed et al 2016 ) or are considered promising candidates, for example, as potential antagonists to keep Australian Agromyzidae in check ( Ridland et al 2020 ).…”

Predators and the management of some agricultural pests in Ecuador

“…y Trialeurodes vaporariorum. Las moscas minadoras del género Liriomyza (Diptera: Agromyzidae) son consideradas plagas secundarias debido a la acción agentes de control biológico, pero pueden convertirse en plagas de importancia debido a los desbalances ocasionados por las aplicaciones continuas de insecticidas realizadas para controlar estas y otras plagas asociadas a los cultivos (Ridland et al, 2020). Por su parte, la mosca blanca, Trialeurodes vaporariorum Westwood (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), es considerada una especie de importancia que afecta cultivos hortícolas sembrados tanto a cielo abierto como en invernaderos (Martin et al, 2000).…”