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Reproductive Biology of Leptocybe invasa Fisher & La Salle (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae)

  • Ecology, Behavior and Bionomics
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Abstract

Leptocybe invasa Fisher & La Salle (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) is an invasive pest in Eucalyptus plantations around the world. The successful colonization of L. invasa is possibly related to its reproductive biology. The objective of this study was to examine the reproductive biology of L. invasa. In Guangxi Province, the sex ratio (proportion of female, 0.99) of L. invasa was female-dominant throughout the year based on natural and artificial infestation. This result was similar to the ratios observed for other geographic populations in China, including those in Fujian (0.99), Guangdong (0.98), Hainan (0.95), Jiangxi (0.96), and Sichuan (0.99). The offspring sex ratio favored females. A large number of females emerged from the galls produced by females, with few males found. Galls on the petioles and midribs of Eucalyptus plants could be caused by newly emerged females with mature eggs. The lengths of the ovariole, spermatheca, common oviduct, and reproductive glands did not differ among L. invasa females, but their lateral oviducts showed differences from 0 to 42 h after emergence, indicating that this insect is proovigenic. These results could explain why L. invasa populations can rapidly increase in invaded areas.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the anonymous referees and editor for their valuable comments on an earlier version, and also thanks Chu-Jiang Wei and Hua-Feng Zhang (Department of Fujian Forestry Pest Management), Jing Chen (Department of Luoding Forestry Pest Management, Guangdong Province), Tang Shi and Bing Sun (Department of Danzhou Forestry Pest Management, Hainan Province), Fan-Yu Zeng (Department of Nankang Forestry Pest Management, Jiangxi Province), Wen-Xia Teng (Department of Panzhihua Forestry Pest Management, Sichuan Province), and Qing-Cheng Huang and Kai Lin (Guangxi University) for their assistance during the field investigation. The research was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31300549, 31560212), the Scientific Research Foundation of Guangxi University (XBZ160068) , and Guangxi Key Laboratory of Agric-Environment and Agric-Products Safety (2016, No. 133).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Agriculture, Guangxi Univ, Nanning, China

    X-L Zheng, Z-Y Huang, J Li & W Lu

  2. College of Forestry, Guangxi Univ, Nanning, China

    Z-D Yang

  3. Dept of Guangxi Forestry Pest Management, Nanning, China

    X-H Yang

Authors
  1. X-L Zheng
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  2. Z-Y Huang
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  3. J Li
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  4. Z-D Yang
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  5. X-H Yang
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  6. W Lu
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Correspondence to W Lu.

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Edited by Christian S Torres – UFRPE

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Zheng, XL., Huang, ZY., Li, J. et al. Reproductive Biology of Leptocybe invasa Fisher & La Salle (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae). Neotrop Entomol 47, 19–25 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13744-017-0502-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13744-017-0502-6

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