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Leucopis glyphinivora, a potential aphidophagous biocontrol agent? Predation and comparison with the commercial agent Aphidoletes aphidimyza

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Abstract

The silver fly Leucopis glyphinivora Tanasijtshuk (Diptera: Chamaemyiidae) is an aphidophagous predator during its larval stage. Few studies have examined the predation habits of this species for biological control. Larval voracity of L. glyphinivora was measured under laboratory and controlled greenhouse conditions and compared with a commercially available biocontrol agent, Aphidoletes aphidimyza Rondani (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae). Laboratory tests were conducted in Petri dishes using Myzus persicae Sulzer (Hemiptera: Aphididae) on potato leaves. In greenhouse tests, predator voracity was evaluated with various plant-aphid treatments. In the laboratory, silver fly larvae consumed 39% more aphids than A. aphidimyza throughout their larval development. In the greenhouse, L. glyphinivora consumed more aphids than A. aphidimyza regardless of treatment. The highest voracities were obtained on tomato and bell pepper infested with M. persicae. No antagonistic predatory effects were observed when predators were used together. This study provides useful insight on L. glyphinoivora as an efficient aphid predator but more research is needed to establish its potential for biological control.

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Acknowledgements

Our deepest thanks go out to Stephen D. Gaimari, California Department of Food and Agriculture, for identification and rearing advice with Leucopis glyphinivora. We would like to extend our gratitude to Jill Vandermeerschen for her help with statistical analysis, Simon Chaussé and Tina Lévesque for technical assistance and the team at LUFA, particularly Javier Campos and Lauren Rathmell. We would also like to thank the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Ministère de l’Agriculture des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation du Québec (MAPAQ), through their Programme de Soutien à l’Innovation Horticole (PSIH), for funding this research project.

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  1. Laboratoire de Lutte Biologique, Département des Sciences Biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), CP 8888, succursale Centre-Ville, Montréal, QC, H3C 3P8, Canada

    Stephane Barriault, Marc Fournier & Eric Lucas

  2. cE3c – ABG – Center for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes and Azorean Biodiversity Group, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of the Azores, 9501-801, Ponta Delgada, Portugal

    António O. Soares

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  1. Stephane Barriault
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Correspondence to Stephane Barriault.

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Barriault, S., Fournier, M., Soares, A.O. et al. Leucopis glyphinivora, a potential aphidophagous biocontrol agent? Predation and comparison with the commercial agent Aphidoletes aphidimyza. BioControl 64, 21–31 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10526-018-09909-x

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