Will the accidental introduction of Neopolycystus insectifurax improve biological control of the eucalyptus tortoise beetle, Paropsis charybdis, in New Zealand?

Mansfield, Sarah; Murray, T. J.; Withers, T. M.

doi:10.1016/j.biocontrol.2010.09.008

Cited by 10 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…The host of E. nassaui undergoes two generations during the austral spring and summer followed by a winter diapause (Kay 1990). Parasitoid populations build up from very low levels in early spring to more than 80 % parasitism by late summer (population dynamics of this host-parasitoid system are described in more detail by Mansfield et al 2011). When E. nassaui was introduced, neither competing primary parasitoids nor hyperparasitoids were present in New Zealand.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Observations of parasitism and aggression by female Enoggera nassaui, an egg parasitoid of the eucalypt pest, Paropsis charybdis

Mansfield

2016

N.Z. j. of For. Sci.

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Background: Female parasitoids that display aggressive behaviour towards conspecifics in defence of host resources must make a trade-off between time spent on aggression and time spent on parasitism. Such a trade-off not only affects the fitness of individual females but also may affect the overall rate of parasitism in the host population. Enoggera nassaui is an egg parasitoid of the eucalypt pest, Paropsis charybdis, with females that defend batches of host eggs from conspecific females by chasing, pushing and sometimes biting their opponent. Methods: The behaviour of female E. nassaui was observed when alone (solo) and in pairs (owner-intruder) in response to a single batch of P. charybdis eggs. The first female in a pair to contact the host eggs was designated the owner and the second female the intruder. Both parasitism-related behaviour for solo and paired females and aggressive interactions between paired females were described from direct observation. Parasitism rates for solo and paired females were also measured. Results: Solo females had a consistent pattern of parasitism-related behaviour, spending 80 % of their time in contact with the host eggs. Paired females showed a similar pattern of parasitism-related behaviour when not interrupted by their competitor. Owners spent 6 % and intruders spent 17 % of their time on aggressive interactions. Intruders completed parasitism faster than solo females because intruders reduced the duration of specific parasitism-related behaviours. Yet from the host's perspective, parasitism by solo females (69 %) was similar to that achieved by both owners and intruders together (66 %). Conclusions: By completing parasitism faster in the presence of a competitor, intruder females compensated to some extent for time spent on aggressive interactions. If E. nassaui has a similar response to intraspecific competitors under natural conditions, then aggression between conspecific females is unlikely to harm pest suppression by these parasitoids.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Observations of parasitism and aggression by female Enoggera nassaui, an egg parasitoid of the eucalypt pest, Paropsis charybdis

Mansfield

2016

N.Z. j. of For. Sci.

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“…The biology and behaviour of E. nassaui and N. insectifurax are compared elsewhere (Mansfield et al 2011;Murray et al 2009). Interactions between them have not been assessed in the absence of B. albifunicle in Australia and the biology of B. albifunicle itself has received little attention.…”

Section: Basic Invasion Theory Predicts Ample Opportunity For Naturalmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Up to 2008, B. albifunicle was recorded from four New Zealand regions where N. insectifurax was not, but these distributions are expected to eventually overlap given the climatic ranges each species already exploits (Murray et al 2008). Currently, E. nassaui remains the primary BCA active against the spring (most damaging) generation of P. charybdis as N. insectifurax has a 13 slower developmental rate, longer pre-oviposition period, and is less well synchronised with P. charybdis oviposition peaks (Mansfield et al 2011). Although obligate hyperparasitism does not reduce intra-generational impact on herbivore density (Jones and Withers 2003), heavy late-summer hyperparasitism is likely to reduce the E. nassaui population going into winter.…”

Section: Implications For Biological Controlmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…insectifurax (24 h as this species is much slower to initiate parasitism (Mansfield et al 2011), n = 17) or no primary parasitoid (n = 20). All batches from the three treatments were then individually exposed to solitary 3-day-old hyperparasitoid females for 2 h, beginning 24 h after primary parasitoids had been first introduced.…”

Section: Hyperparasitism Of N Insectifuraxmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, in New Zealand E. nassaui has characteristics that allow it to regulate P. charybdis more effectively than does N. insectifurax (Mansfield et al 2011). The same is true with regard to an invasive hyperparasitoid's capacity to reduce parasitoid density below the level necessary to control the herbivore pest.…”

Section: Biology Of Baeoanusia Albifuniclementioning

confidence: 99%

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Reproductive characteristics of invasive hyperparasitoid Baeoanusia albifunicle have implications for the biological control of eucalypt pest Paropsis charybdis

Murray

Mansfield²

2015

Biological Control

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Hyperparasitoids can impede the establishment of primary parasitoid biological control agents or limit their control capacity. Although modern quarantine practices generally prevent hyperparasitoids being introduced with biological control agents, introductions can occur via natural pathways or accidentally with incoming passengers and cargo. In New Zealand, Baeoanusia albifunicle Girault is a self-introduced hyperparasitoid of Enoggera nassauiGirault, an intentionally introduced control agent of the eucalypt pest Paropsis charybdis Stål. A self-introduced primary parasitoid, Neopolycystus insectifurax (Girault), also parasitises P. charybdis in New Zealand. We assessed B. albifunicle biology to better understand its potential to disrupt P. charybdis control. It was determined that B. albifunicle is an obligate solitary hyperparasitoid with a longer lifespan, lower fecundity and longer generation time than its host. The hyperparasitoid reduced effective parasitism by E. nassaui to <10% in the lab, indicating it may limit control of the first P. charybdis generation by slowing spring population growth. It was confirmed that N. insectifurax is not hyperparasitised by B. albifunicle and therefore has some potential to substitute for any hyperparasitoid-driven decline in E. nassaui.

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Host testing of Eadya daenerys, a potential biological control agent for the invasive chrysomelid pest Paropsis charybdis, predicts host specificity to eucalypt-leaf feeding Paropsina

et al. 2019

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Will the accidental introduction of Neopolycystus insectifurax improve biological control of the eucalyptus tortoise beetle, Paropsis charybdis, in New Zealand?

Cited by 10 publications

References 15 publications

Observations of parasitism and aggression by female Enoggera nassaui, an egg parasitoid of the eucalypt pest, Paropsis charybdis

Observations of parasitism and aggression by female Enoggera nassaui, an egg parasitoid of the eucalypt pest, Paropsis charybdis

Reproductive characteristics of invasive hyperparasitoid Baeoanusia albifunicle have implications for the biological control of eucalypt pest Paropsis charybdis

Host testing of Eadya daenerys, a potential biological control agent for the invasive chrysomelid pest Paropsis charybdis, predicts host specificity to eucalypt-leaf feeding Paropsina

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