Trichospilus diatraeae (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae): A Potential Biological Control Agent of Lepidopteran Pests of Oil Palm in the Brazilian Amazon

The expansion of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) monoculture may favor insect pests such as the caterpillars of Opsiphanes invirae Hübner, Brassolis sophorae L. (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) and Eupalamides cyparissias (Fabricius) (Lepidoptera: Castniidae). The objective of this study was to evaluate the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Florida entomologist 2013-06, Vol.96 (2), p.676-678
Main Authors: Ribeiro, Rafael C, Lemos, Walkymário De P, Castro, Ancidériton A. De, Poderoso, Júlio C. M, Serrão, José E, Zanuncio, José C
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
biological control agents
Brassolis
Brassolis sophorae
Castniidae
Distribution
Elaeis guineensis
Environmental aspects
Eulophidae
females
Health aspects
Host-parasite relationships
hosts
Hymenoptera
insect larvae
insect pests
Lepidoptera
Nymphalidae
Oil palm
parasitism
parasitoids
pupae
Scientific Notes
Trichospilus
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Summary:The expansion of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) monoculture may favor insect pests such as the caterpillars of Opsiphanes invirae Hübner, Brassolis sophorae L. (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) and Eupalamides cyparissias (Fabricius) (Lepidoptera: Castniidae). The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential of Trichospilus diatraeae Cherian & Margabandhu (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) to parasitize pupae of lepidopteran pests of oil palm. Groups of fifty females of T. diatraeae were maintained inside test tubes with one pupa of one of the following hosts: O. invirae, B. sophorae or E. cyparissias for 48 h. Trichospilus diatraeae parasitized the 3 Lepidopteran species, but reproduced only on O. invirae and B. sophorae. These results suggest that this parasitoid, of polyphagous habit, may represent an alternative for the control of lepidopteran pests of oil palm in the Brazilian Amazon.
ISSN:0015-4040
1938-5102
DOI:10.1653/024.096.0245