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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Fort Lauderdale, Florida » Invasive Plant Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #159071
Title: LARVAL PARASITOIDS OF THE APPLE ERMINE MOTH, YPOMOMEUTA MALINELLUS ZELL.,(LEPIDOPTERA: YPONOMEUTIDAE) IN KOREA, JAPAN, AND CHINA

Author
item LEE, JANG-HOON - DDONG U;SEOUL,REP KOREA
item Pemberton, Robert

Submitted to: BioControl
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/20/2005
Publication Date: 4/20/2005
Citation: Lee, J., Pemberton, R.W. 2005 Larval parasitoids of the apple ermine moth, ypomomeuta malinellus zell.,(lepidoptera: yponomeutidae) in korea, japan, and china. Biocontrol. 50:247-258

Interpretive Summary: The apple ermine moth was discovered attacking cultivated apples trees in Washington State and British Columbia, Canada during the 1980s. Because this moth is an important pest of apples in its native Eurasia, the discovery of the moth in the Pacific Northwest caused great concern that moth would become an important pest of apples in North America. A biological control effort was begun to attempt to discover and implement natural enemies from the moth's native range to reduce the moth's abundance and to limit its spread in North America. Surveys for natural enemies were conducted in Northeast Asia (China, Japan and Korea) during the early 1990s. Ten primary parasites (wasps and flies) were found attacking the larvae of the moth. Korea had the most species with 9, followed by Japan with 7 and China with 2. An encyrtid wasp, Ageniaspis fuscicollis, caused the most larval mortality of all the paraistoids, averaging 22.7, 11.0, and 9.3% parasitism in China, Korea, and Japan, respectively. Ageniaspis fuscicollis and the fly Herpestomus brunnicornis were judged to be the most appropriate parasitoids for biological control of moth in the U.S.A., because of their higher levels of parasitism and limited diets. These were collected and sent to the U.S.A for release and A. fuscicollis

Technical Abstract: Larval parasitoids of Yponomeuta malinellus Zell. (Lepidoptera: Yponomeutidae), the apple ermine moth (AEM), were sought in northeast Asia with the goal of identifying potential biological controls of the moth, which appeared to threaten the apple industry in Washington State, USA during the 1980s. Ten primary and four secondary parasitoids were found. Dolichogenidea delecta (Haliday) (Braconidae), Ageniaspis fuscicollis (Dalman) (Encyrtidae), Herpestomus brunnicornis Grav. (Icheumonidae), Bessa paralella (Meigen), and Zenillia dolosa (Meigen) (Tachinidae) were the most important parasitoids. The composition of parasitoid species was more diverse in Korea and Japan than in China; 2 species were found in China, compared to 9 in Korea and 7 in Japan. A. fuscicollis caused a greater mortality in all investigated countries; 22.7, 11.0, and 9.3% in China, Korea, and Japan, respectively. There was a high similarity in the composition of the parasitoid complex between Korean and Honshu populations but the rates of parasitization were different. The polyphagous B. paralella caused significantly higher parasitism in Honshu (18.2%) than in Korea (<0.5). In contrast, H. brunnicornis caused significantly higher parasitism in Korea (8.7%) than in Japan (2.4%). A. fuscicollis and H. brunnicornis, judged to be the most appropriate parasitoids for biological control of AEM moth in the U.S.A., were collected and sent to the U.S.A for release. A. fuscicollis established and is contributing to the control of AEM.