Evaluation of Trichopria anastrephae performance as parasitoid of Drosophila suzukii and Zaprionus indianus, under controlled laboratory conditions

• Published in: Entomologia experimentalis et applicata 2024-06, Vol.172 (6), p.472-478
• Main Authors: Funes, C. F., Rendon, D., Saez, J. V., Allori Stazzonelli, E., Pastor, L. C., Gibilisco, S. M., Bouvet, J. P., Maza, N., Kirschbaum, D. S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biological control; biological invasion; Controlled conditions; Diapriidae; Diptera; Drosophila suzukii; Drosophilidae; exotic species; Flasks; Fruit flies; fruit pest; Insects; Introduced species; invasive pest; Invasive species; Larvae; Natural enemies; Parasitism; Parasitoids; Pest control; pest insect; Pests; Trichopria anastrephae; Zaprionus indianus
• ISSN: 0013-8703; 1570-7458
• DOI: 10.1111/eea.13436

Native parasitoids are potential tools for the biological control of invasive exotic pests, such as the frugivorous flies spotted‐wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii Matsumura, and African fig fly, Zaprionus indianus Gupta (both Diptera: Drosophilidae). Following biological invasions, the establishment of exotic species may be restricted, among other things, by their susceptibility to native or established natural enemies. The Neotropical‐native pupal endoparasitoid Trichopria anastrephae Costa Lima (Hymenoptera: Diapriidae), although primarily associated with hosts of the genus Anastrepha (Tephritidae), has also been described to attack Drosophilidae. There are few studies on the interaction between parasitoids native to Argentina and D. suzukii and/or Z. indianus. The present work evaluates the parasitism of T. anastrephae on both species of drosophilids under controlled conditions. Ten larvae (L3) of each host species were exposed separately to a couple of adult T. anastrephae for 72 h (n = 10). For both control and parasitoid treatment, 10 larvae (L3) of D. suzukii and Z. indianus were placed in 10 flasks (repetition) at the L3 stage. Host emergence, the infestation degree index (DI), and the parasitism success rate (SP) were calculated. Drosophila suzukii and Z. indianus emergence differed significantly in controlled conditions being 41% higher for Z. indianus than for D. suzukii. The DI was 100% in D. suzukii and 38% in Z. indianus, and the SP was 48% both in D. suzukii and in Z. indianus. These findings indicate that the native parasitoid T. anastrephae has a high potential as a biocontrol strategy against D. suzukii. In addition, the efficiency of T. anastrephae against Z. indianus, an invasive frugivorous widely spread in the Neotropical region, was evaluated for the first time. To evaluate the behavior of Trichopria anastrephae (Hymenoptera: Diapriidae) on two drosophilid species under controlled conditions, the survival, infestation degree index (DI) and parasitism success rate (SP) were calculated. Zaprionus indianus expressed 41% more fly emergence than Drosophila suzukii, the DI was 100% in Ds and 38% in Zi, and the SP was 48% in Ds and Zi. The results indicated that the native parasitoid T. anastrephae has a high potential to be incorporated in the biological control of Ds.