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Parasitism Performance of Tetrastichus brontispae Ferriere over the Coconut Hispine Beetle, Brontispa longissima (Gestro)

  • Biological Control
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Abstract

In this study, the effect of host density, host, and parasitoid ages in choice and no-choice tests on the parasitism performance of Tetrastichus brontispae Ferriere, one of the major parasitoid of Brontispa longissima (Gestro), was investigated in the laboratory. The results revealed that an increased host density resulted in no increased parasitism of B. longissima by T. brontispae; the optimal host density was three host pupae per parasitoid when considering the costs for mass rearing. Moreover, parasitoid age was quite crucial for effective parasitism and affected the emergence rate. Although 2-h to 4-day-old parasitoids successfully parasitized the host pupae, younger parasitoids (within 2-day-old) presented higher parasitism capacity than older parasitoids. More importantly, both choice and no-choice tests confirmed that all host stages tested from 2-h to 4-day-old were suitable for T. brontispae parasitization, although 2-h to 2-day-old hosts were preferred. We also demonstrated that sex ratio, emergence rate, and egg to adult developmental time were not influenced by host density, parasitoid, and host age in both choice and no-choice tests. Our data will allow for more accurate prediction and interpretation on the parasitization by T. brontispae, supporting mass-production initiatives and mass release in programs of B. longissima.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Special Fund for Agro-scientific Research in the Public Interest of China (No. 200903026-5).We would like to thank Zeng DQ Professor for critical evaluations of this work and for helpful comments on the English writing. We would also thank reviewers for their constructive comments and valuable suggestions for this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environment and Plant Protection Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, 571101, Hainan, People’s Republic of China

    K Liu, B L Fu, Y G Fu, Z Q Peng, Q A Jin & L D Tang

  2. Agricultural Univ of South China, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China

    J R Lin

Authors
  1. K Liu
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  2. B L Fu
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  3. J R Lin
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  4. Y G Fu
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  5. Z Q Peng
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  6. Q A Jin
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  7. L D Tang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to B L Fu.

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Edited by Tiago Cardoso Costa Lima – Embrapa

K. Liu and B. L. Fu contributed equally to the study as the co-first authors.

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Liu, K., Fu, B.L., Lin, J.R. et al. Parasitism Performance of Tetrastichus brontispae Ferriere over the Coconut Hispine Beetle, Brontispa longissima (Gestro). Neotrop Entomol 45, 420–426 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13744-016-0389-7

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