Skip to main content
ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Systematic Entomology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #332496
Research Project: Systematics of Parasitic and Herbivorous Wasps of Agricultural Importance

Location: Systematic Entomology Laboratory

Title: Halyomorpha halys (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) egg surface chemicals inhibit North American Telenomus and Trissolcus (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) parasitism

Author
item TOGNON, ROBERTA - Rio Grande Do Sul State Department Of Agricultural Research
item ALDRICH, JEFFREY - Non ARS Employee
item Buffington, Matthew
item Talamas, Elijah
item SAN'ANA, JOSUE - Rio Grande Do Sul State Department Of Agricultural Research
item ZALOM, FRANK - Rio Grande Do Sul State Department Of Agricultural Research

Submitted to: Journal of Biological Control
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/14/2017
Publication Date: 7/28/2017
Citation: Tognon, R., Aldrich, J.R., Buffington, M.L., Talamas, E.J., San'Ana, J., Zalom, F. 2017. Halyomorpha halys (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) egg surface chemicals inhibit North American Telenomus and Trissolcus (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) parasitism. Journal of Biological Control. 114:39-44.

Interpretive Summary: Parasitoid wasps are potent natural enemies of many species of pest insect. Understanding chemical cues in parasitoid wasp biology are key factors in the success of biological control. This paper explains an experiment in which the chemicals parasitic wasps use for finding suitable host species was investigated. Biological control workers, extension agents, and APHIS cooperators worldwide will find this research product essential for their own work.

Technical Abstract: Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae), the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), is an invasive pest in the U.S., where it has been largely unaffected by natural enemies. Using rinsed and unrinsed, frozen and fresh egg masses in laboratory bioassays, we studied how surface chemicals on the eggs of H. halys might suppress parasitism by the native North American scelionid parasitoids, Telenomus podisi Ashmead and Trissolcus erugatus Johnson (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae). Parasitism of fresh-rinsed and fresh-unrinsed H. halys eggs was not observed in laboratory bioassays. However, both Te. podisi and Tr. erugatus parasitized significantly more frozen-rinsed eggs (59.6% and 71.1%, respectively) than frozen-unrinsed eggs (27.9% and 46.5% respectively). Some of these parasitoids of both species that successfully emerged from frozen-rinsed and frozen-unrinsed eggs were subsequently able to develop in fresh-unrinsed H. halys eggs for at least four generations, with parasitism starting around 30% and 40% to Te. podisi and Tr. erugatus respectively, but decreased on subsequent ones. We conclude that the success of indigenous egg parasitoids in successfully parasitizing the invasive H. halys in North America may be initially limited by compounds present on the surface of BMSB eggs, and that native parasitoids can learn to recognize the exotic BMSB eggs under specific circumstances. Knowledge of the semiochemistry of egg parasitism increases the likelihood that it may be possible to select native parasitoids for biological control of H. halys and other invasive pests.