home    about    browse    search    latest    help 
Login | Create Account

Selective flowers to attract and enhance Telenomus laeviceps (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae): a released biocontrol agent of Mamestra brassicae (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Barloggio, G.; Tamm, L.; Nagel, P. and Luka, H. (2018) Selective flowers to attract and enhance Telenomus laeviceps (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae): a released biocontrol agent of Mamestra brassicae (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Bulletin of Entomological Research, online, pp. 1-9.

[thumbnail of Barloggio_etal_2018_BulletinEntomologicalResearch_online_p1-9.pdf] PDF - Published Version - English
Limited to [Depositor and staff only]

353kB

Document available online at: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bulletin-of-entomological-research/article/selective-flowers-to-attract-and-enhance-telenomus-laeviceps-hymenoptera-scelionidae-a-released-biocontrol-agent-of-mamestra-brassicae-lepidoptera-noctuidae/6D0DC586ADBB92EA687429AE25779FF1


Summary

The importance of the right food source for the survival and reproduction of certain insect species is well documented. In the case of biocontrol agents, this is even more important in order to reach a high predation or parasitation performance. The egg parasitoid Telenomus laeviceps (Förster, 1861) (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) is a promising candidate for mass release as a biological control agent of the cabbage moth Mamestra brassicae (Linnaeus, 1758) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). However, adult T. laeviceps need a sugar-rich food source to increase their parasitation performance and produce a good amount of female offspring. Released biocontrol agents were shown to benefit from conservation biocontrol, which includes the provision of selected flowers as nectar resources for beneficial insects. In Switzerland, Centaurea cyanus L. (Asteraceae), Fagopyrum esculentum Moench (Polygonaceae) and Vicia sativa L. (Fabaceae) are successfully implemented in the field to attract and promote natural enemies of different cabbage pests. In this study, we investigated the potential of these selected flowers to attract and promote T. laeviceps under laboratory conditions. In Y-tube olfactometer experiments, we first tested whether the three nectar providing plant species are attractive to T. laeviceps. Furthermore, we assessed their effects on survival and parasitation performance of adult T. laeviceps. We found that flowers of F. esculentum and C. cyanus were attractive in contrast to V. sativa. Also fecundity and the number of female offspring produced were higher for females kept on F. esculentum and C. cyanus than on V. sativa. In contrast, survival was similar on all treatments. Our findings present a further key step towards the implementation of T. laeviceps as a biocontrol agent.


EPrint Type:Journal paper
Keywords:biocontrol agent, fecundity, longevity, nectar, olfatometer, Telenomus laeviceps, Agroecology, Plant protection
Agrovoc keywords:
Language
Value
URI
English
flowers
http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_2993
English
biocontrol -> biological control
http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_918
Subjects:"Organics" in general
Environmental aspects > Biodiversity and ecosystem services
Crop husbandry > Crop health, quality, protection
Research affiliation: Switzerland > FiBL - Research Institute of Organic Agriculture Switzerland > Crops > Crop protection > Biocontrol
Switzerland > FiBL - Research Institute of Organic Agriculture Switzerland > Crops > Crop protection
DOI:10.1017/S0007485318000287
Deposited By: Luka, Dr. Henryk
ID Code:34501
Deposited On:14 Feb 2019 10:02
Last Modified:04 Aug 2021 09:13
Document Language:English
Status:Published
Refereed:Peer-reviewed and accepted

Repository Staff Only: item control page

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

View more statistics