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Do floral resources in Eucalyptus plantations affect fitness parameters of the parasitoid Palmistichus elaeisis (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae)?

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Abstract

Adult parasitoids depend on sugar-rich foods such as nectar and honeydew to meet their energy requirements. The availability of nectar, honeydew or fruit sap affects the longevity, fecundity and dispersal of parasitoids and consequently their potential as biocontrol agents. The aim of this study was to evaluate the development and reproduction of an important parasitoid of Brazilian ecosystems, Palmistichus elaeisis (Delvare and LaSalle 1993) (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), fed with nectar from Eucalyptus flowers and flowering herbs. Males and females of this parasitoid were individualized in glass tubes, and their survival and longevity were evaluated in the following treatments: flowers of Bidens pilosa L. 1753, Emilia fosbergii Nicolson 1975, Galinsoga parviflora Cav. 1796, Sonchus oleraceus L. 1753, Taraxacum officinale F.H. Wigg. 1780 (Asteraceae) and Eucalyptus sp. (Myrtaceae), a honey droplet or no food. In the second trial, six P. elaeisis females were placed into plastic pots containing one Tenebrio molitor L. 1758 (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) host pupa under the same treatments. Parasitism and emergence, the duration of the egg–adult period, the number of adults per pupa, the sex ratio, the width of the head capsule and the body length of P. elaeisis were evaluated. Food sources of honey or flowering herbs increased the survival, longevity, period of parasitism, percentage of parasitized pupae and number of progeny of P. elaeisis. Longevity and reproduction were seriously compromised in the absence of sugar feeding.

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Acknowledgments

To “Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)”, “Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)” and “Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG)” for financial support. To the anonymous reviewer for considerable contributions to the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Agronomia, Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri – UFVJM, Diamantina, Minas Gerais, Brazil, 39.100-000

    Silma da Silva Camilo, Marcus Alvarenga Soares, José Barbosa dos Santos & Sebastião Lourenço de Assis Júnior

  2. Insetário G.W.G. de Moraes, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais – UFMG, Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brazil, 39.404-547

    Germano Leão Demolin Leite

  3. Departamento de Entomologia/Bioagro, Universidade Federal de Viçosa – UFV, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil, 36.570-900

    José Cola Zanuncio

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  1. Silma da Silva Camilo
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  2. Marcus Alvarenga Soares
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  3. Germano Leão Demolin Leite
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  4. José Barbosa dos Santos
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  5. Sebastião Lourenço de Assis Júnior
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  6. José Cola Zanuncio
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Correspondence to Marcus Alvarenga Soares.

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da Silva Camilo, S., Soares, M.A., Leite, G.L.D. et al. Do floral resources in Eucalyptus plantations affect fitness parameters of the parasitoid Palmistichus elaeisis (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae)?. Phytoparasitica 44, 651–659 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12600-016-0549-7

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