Progênie de Palmistichus elaeisis Delvare & LaSalle (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) parasitando pupas de Bombyx mori L. (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae) de diferentes idades

Abstract

-Palmistichus elaeisisDelvare & LaSalle is a natural pupal parasitoid of eucalyptus defoliator lepidopterans and is considered a promising biocontrol agent. However, the development of effi cient rearing techniques for this natural enemy are fi rst required before it can be used in biocontrol programs. Bombyx mori L. pupae are potential alternative hosts for this parasitoid mass rearing, and they are easy to rear. Therefore, we investigated the most suitable host age and the effects of parasitoid age on progeny production of P. elaeisis. B. mori pupae, 24h-, 48h-, 72h-or 96h-old were exposed to P. elaeisis females of similar age. The duration of the life cycle (egg-adult) of P. elaeisis was not affected by the age of the parasitizing female; however, the host age affected parasitoid development. The best parasitization was obtained for 72h-to 96h-old parasitoid females when offered to 48h-to 72h-old host pupae, allowing the synchronized rearing of a large number of P. elaeisis offspring.

Oogenesis pattern and type of ovariole of the parasitoid Palmistichus elaeisis (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae)

“…One possible response to the higher reproductive success of P. elaesis aged between 72 and 96 h compared with younger individuals in B. mori (Pereira et al 2009) is the maturation of oocytes occurring throughout the adult life of the parasitoid with a high concentration of eggs after 48 h, as demonstrated in this study. Thus, these findings may help to improve the mass production of P. elaeisis, understand some characteristics of the reproductive physiology of Eulophidae and predict the release time to improve the efficiency of P. elaeisis.…”

“…Thus, the efficiency of the parasitism of P. elaeisis in pupae of Bombyx mori L. (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae) occurred at 72 and 96 h (Pereira et al 2009). This may be related to the oogeny of this natural enemy.…”

Biological characteristics of Palmistichus elaeisis Delvare & Lasalle (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) on refrigerated pupae of Anticarsia gemmatalis Hubner (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

“…Pupae can maintain physiological and/or suitable nutritional conditions for parasitoids a certain period, but this varies with the host species and/or parasitoid (Pereira et al, 2009;Pastori et al, 2012). Muscidifurax uniraptor Kogan & Legner (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) had a lower reproductive capacity on pupae of Musca domestica (Linnaues, 1758) (Diptera: Muscidae) after storage for 1 to 2 d when compared to those not refrigerated.…”

“…However, the conservation of this host at low temperatures has not yet been studied and for this reason the present study was developed. In order to investigate the reproductive capacity of parasitoids on pupae stored at low temperatures, it is important to synchronize both parasitoid and host demands while seeking mass production of these natural enemies for release in the field (Pereira et al, 2009).…”

“…Biological characteristics of Palmistichus elaeisis Delvare & LaSalle (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) on refrigerated pupae of Anticarsia gemmatalis Hubner (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) INTRODUCTION Delvare & LaSalle, 1993 (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) is a parasitoid with potential for use in the control of Lepidoptera of economic importance (Pereira et al, 2010), which has been reported in insects of the families Arctiidae (Zaché et al, 2012a), Bombycidae (Pereira et al, 2009), Crambidae (Bittencourt and Berti-Filho, 2004;Chichera et al, 2012), Noctuidae (Bittencourt and Berti-Filho, 1999;Andrade et al, 2010), and Lymantriidae (Zaché et al, 2012b).…”