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Environmental and maternal effects on host selection and parasitism success of Bracon hebetor

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Abstract

The biological control programs supporting the native species of natural enemies are far more sustainable than those which use exotic enemies of the target pest. Little is known about the effects of the surrounding environment on host selection behavior of Bracon hebetor Say (Hymenoptera: Braconidae). In the present study, the effects of the origin of the parasitoid populations, host species and parasitoid rearing history on host selection and parasitism success of B. hebetor were investigated. Several life-history parameters, including the frequency of parasitism, percentage parasitism, egg load, survival rate and the offspring sex ratio of the parasitoid were measured. In terms of both selection and parasitism success, B. hebetor preferred Ephestia kuehniella Zeller (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) over Apomyelois ceratoniae Zeller (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) and Helicoverpa armigera Hübner (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), and A. ceratoniae over H. armigera. When different populations of B. hebetor were compared, the B. hebetor population originated from orchard was the most successful compared with the field and store populations. In addition, the rearing history was influential on the parasitism preference and success: a better performance of the parasitoid was obtained when it was reared on its original host compared with an intermediate host, E. kuehniella. The causes and consequences of these findings were further discussed in relation with mass rearing of this parasitoid for biological control programs.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Prof. Mohammad Saeed Mossadegh (Shahid Chamran University, Ahvaz, Iran) for assisting with the experimental designs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plant Protection, College of Agriculture, Shahid Chamran University, Ahvaz, Iran

    Dorna Saadat & Ali Asghar Seraj

  2. Department of Plant Protection, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran

    Seyed Hossein Goldansaz

  3. Department of Plant Protection, Isfahan Research Centre for Agriculture and Natural Resources, PO Box 199, 81785, Isfahan, Iran

    Javad Karimzadeh

Authors
  1. Dorna Saadat
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  2. Ali Asghar Seraj
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  3. Seyed Hossein Goldansaz
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  4. Javad Karimzadeh
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Correspondence to Javad Karimzadeh.

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Saadat, D., Seraj, A.A., Goldansaz, S.H. et al. Environmental and maternal effects on host selection and parasitism success of Bracon hebetor . BioControl 59, 297–306 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10526-014-9572-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10526-014-9572-0

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