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The influence of two endoparasitic wasps, Hyposoter didymator and Chelonus inanitus, on the growth and food consumption of their host larva Spodoptera littoralis

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Abstract

The influence of parasitism by Hyposoter didymator (Thunberg; Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) and Chelonus inanitus (Linnaeus) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) on the growth and food consumption of their host Spodoptera littoralis (Boisduval) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) was studied in the laboratory. Parasitised larvae consumed significantly less artificial diet than unparasitised ones. Egg parasitisation by C. inanitus affected host larval consumption from the second day after emergence and it was significantly different from that of unparasitised ones. H. didymator, however, started to reduce larval consumption 4 days after parasitisation on the third instar host larvae. The overall reduction achieved by the larval endoparasitoid H. didymator is higher than that caused by the egg-larval endoparasitoid C. inanitus. The final body weight of a parasitised host larva by H. didymator and C. inanitus was only 6.7 and 13.0% of the maximum weight of an unparasitised sixth instar larva respectively. Moreover, parasitised larvae never reached the last instar. Results indicated that parasitised larvae might cause considerable less damage to the host plant than unparasitised ones.

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Acknowledgements

To Dr. Lanzrein (Bern University, Switzerland) and Dr. Volkoff (INRA of Montpellier, France) for providing the parasitoids and for giving us advice concerning their mass rearing; and to the Spanish Ministry of Education and Culture for financial support.

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  1. Unidad de Protección de Cultivos, E.T.S.I. Agrónomos, Ciudad Universitaria, s/n. 28040, Madrid, Spain

    J. Morales, P. Medina & E. Viñuela

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  1. J. Morales
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  2. P. Medina
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  3. E. Viñuela
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Correspondence to P. Medina.

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Morales, J., Medina, P. & Viñuela, E. The influence of two endoparasitic wasps, Hyposoter didymator and Chelonus inanitus, on the growth and food consumption of their host larva Spodoptera littoralis . BioControl 52, 145–160 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10526-006-9026-4

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