The solitary parasitoid Eretmocerus mundus Mercet (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) is one of the key biolog- ical control agents of the whitefly Bemisia argentifolii Bellows & Perring, also known as B. tabaci (Genna- dius) B-biotype (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae). We present new information on its biology, and particularly about larval elimination during the first instar in cases of superparasitism. For the first time, physical elimination of supernumerary larvae was observed, both outside and inside the host. These findings are documented with confocal microscopy images and video recordings. We observed more than 350 B. argentifolii nymphs, parasitized with one, two or more than two larvae. Physical attack took place only when parasitoid eggs were laid in contact with each other. In this case the percentage larval mortality outside the host was significantly higher (45.7%) than in cases of single larvae (12.0%) or larvae hatched under the same host but not in contact with each other (23.3%).These new findings are important in view of a possible horizontal transfer of a parthenogenesis inducing Wol- bachia bacterium from a thelytokous to an arrhenotokous strain, with the aim of augmenting the biolog- ical control of B. argentifolii.
LO VERDE V, VAN LENTEREN JC, SMID HM, DE JONG PW, CASTILLO CARRILLO CI, CALECA V (2008). External and internal elimination of supernumerary larvae in the whitefly parasitoid Eretmocerus mundus Mercet (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae). BIOLOGICAL CONTROL, 46 (3)(3), 287-292 [10.1016/j.biocontrol.2008.05.013].
External and internal elimination of supernumerary larvae in the whitefly parasitoid Eretmocerus mundus Mercet (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae)
LO VERDE, Valentina;CALECA, Virgilio
2008-01-01
Abstract
The solitary parasitoid Eretmocerus mundus Mercet (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) is one of the key biolog- ical control agents of the whitefly Bemisia argentifolii Bellows & Perring, also known as B. tabaci (Genna- dius) B-biotype (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae). We present new information on its biology, and particularly about larval elimination during the first instar in cases of superparasitism. For the first time, physical elimination of supernumerary larvae was observed, both outside and inside the host. These findings are documented with confocal microscopy images and video recordings. We observed more than 350 B. argentifolii nymphs, parasitized with one, two or more than two larvae. Physical attack took place only when parasitoid eggs were laid in contact with each other. In this case the percentage larval mortality outside the host was significantly higher (45.7%) than in cases of single larvae (12.0%) or larvae hatched under the same host but not in contact with each other (23.3%).These new findings are important in view of a possible horizontal transfer of a parthenogenesis inducing Wol- bachia bacterium from a thelytokous to an arrhenotokous strain, with the aim of augmenting the biolog- ical control of B. argentifolii.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
---|---|---|---|
LoVerdeetal08BiologicalControl.pdf
Solo gestori archvio
Dimensione
504.6 kB
Formato
Adobe PDF
|
504.6 kB | Adobe PDF | Visualizza/Apri Richiedi una copia |
I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.