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The activities of generalist parasitoids can be segregated between crop and adjacent non-crop habitats

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Abstract

Non-crop habitat adjacent to crops may be important for enhancing the activity of natural enemies in crops. However, it is not always clear whether natural enemies that are active in non-crop habitats actually contribute to pest suppression in adjacent crop habitats. We hypothesised that parasitic wasps that utilise the same hosts can be segregated between crop and non-crop habitats in an agro-ecosystem. We tested this hypothesis using the light brown apple moth, Epiphyas postvittana (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), in vineyards and adjacent native vegetation. We experimentally measured the parasitism rate of larval E. postvittana at six and eight sites in both vineyards and the adjacent native vegetation in two consecutive years. Wild larval Tortricidae were also collected at each experimental site to assess their diversity and related parasitoids. Parasitised hosts were then identified using a PCR-based protocol to examine the parasitoids’ host ranges. The parasitoid Therophilus unimaculatus (Turner) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) was most active in non-crop native vegetation, whereas Dolichogenidea tasmanica (Cameron) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) parasitised the most larvae in vineyards. Parasitism of E. postvittana by D. tasmanica was higher on grape than on plantain, which indicates that host plants influence activities in different habitat. Both species shared the same range of tortricid hosts. Overall, our results indicate the two key parasitoids that attack E. postvittana differ in their pattern of habitat use. The native vegetation adjacent to crops may not enhance the activity of some natural enemies for pest control in an agricultural ecosystem.

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Acknowledgments

This research was made possible through scholarships to Yi Feng awarded by the Grape and Wine Research Development Corporation, the China Scholarship Council and the University of Adelaide. We thank managers who allowed us to conduct experiments in their vineyards: Craig Markby, Janet Klein, Dave Hamilton, Greg Horner, Katrina Horner, James Thorpe, Murray Leake, Mike Harms, Peter McIntyre and Geoff Hardy. We thank Roberta Hitchcock for her help with the molecular identification of tortricid species and Nicholas Stevens for his help in identifying Therophilus unimaculatus. We thank Arthur Selwyn Mark, Ahmad Chatha, Maryam Yazdani, Mitch Flint, Tao Wang, Yan Ma and Yulin Zhang for their assistance with field experiments and insect sampling. We thank Michael Nash and Maarten van Helden for their valuable comments on an early version of this paper. There are no sources of conflict of interest.

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  1. Yi Feng

    Present address: Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management on Crops in Northwestern Loess Plateau, Ministry of Agriculture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, 5005, Australia

    Yi Feng, Olena Kravchuk & Michael A. Keller

  2. School of the Environment, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, 5001, Australia

    Harpinder Sandhu

  3. Division of Soil, Plant and Ecological Sciences, Lincoln University, Lincoln, 7647, Canterbury, New Zealand

    Stephen D. Wratten

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  1. Yi Feng
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Correspondence to Yi Feng.

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No human participants and/or animals were involved in this study. We confirm that this work meets the international ethical guidelines and journal’s policy on these matters, including adherence to the legal requirements of Australia where this work was carried out.

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Communicated by B. Lavandero.

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Sequences deposited in GenBank (Accession Numbers: KF146183-KF146214; KM115588-KM115616).

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Feng, Y., Kravchuk, O., Sandhu, H. et al. The activities of generalist parasitoids can be segregated between crop and adjacent non-crop habitats. J Pest Sci 90, 275–286 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-016-0775-2

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