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Parasitism of Spodoptera litura (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) by Microplitis prodeniae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)

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Abstract

Spodoptera litura Fabricius is a major vegetable pest that is widely distributed throughout tropical, subtropical and temperate regions. Microplitis prodeniae Rao and Chandry is a solitary endoparasitoid of S. litura. To assess the potential use of this parasitoid as a biological control agent, the reproductive schedule, fecundity and functional response of M. prodeniae were investigated under conditions of 28 ± 1°C and 70 ± 10% relative humidity with a 14:10-h L:D photoperiod. The parasitoid’s average lifetime fecundity was 171.0 ± 10.4 eggs, of which approximately 50% were laid within the first 3 days. Additionally, M. prodeniae exhibited a Holling type II functional response, and the estimated maximum numbers of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd instar larvae that were parasitized by a single M. prodeniae female were 71.6, 78.4 and 41.5 larvae over a 24-h period, respectively. The results of this study suggest that M. prodeniae has great potential as a candidate for controlling S. litura and can guide efforts in its mass production.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Haibo Wen and Qi′an Jin for their help with the experiments. The authors also gratefully acknowledge Dongbao Song (College of Plant Protection, Hunan Agricultural University) for his help with wasp identification and Cheng Bai and Zhi Gong (CATAS-EPPI) for his critical comments and review of the manuscript. This research was funded by the Special Fund for Agro-Scientific Research in the Public Interest of the People’s Republic of China (No. 201403075), the Scientific Research Foundation for Returned Scholars (MOE 2013), the Tropical Fruit and Vegetable Pesticide Risk Assessment project of the State Support Plan (2012BAK01B05), and the Major National Scientific Instrument and Equipment Development Special of China (2012YQ09022910).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Medicinal Plant Development Yunnan Branch, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinghong, China

    Z Yan & L X Zhang

  2. Environment and Plant Protection Institute, Key Lab for Baleful Biology Detection and Monitoring of Tropical Agriculture of Hainan Province, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Haikou, 571101, China

    Z Yan, J J Yue, B Q Lu & Z Q Peng

  3. College of Environment and Plant Protection, Hainan Univ, Haikou, China

    Z Yan, J J Yue, C H Zhang & Y L Xie

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  1. Z Yan
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Correspondence to Z Q Peng.

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Edited by Madelaine Venzon – EPAMIG

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Yan, Z., Yue, J.J., Zhang, C.H. et al. Parasitism of Spodoptera litura (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) by Microplitis prodeniae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae). Neotrop Entomol 47, 139–144 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13744-017-0542-y

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