ARS | Publication request: TULIP POPLAR (LIRIODENDRON TULIPIFERA L.) AS A NECTAR SOURCE FOR TIPHIA VERNALIS ROHWER ADULTS

Submitted to: Entomological Society of America Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: December 16, 1994
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: Wasps of the genus Tiphia are solitary ectoparasitoids of larval scarab beetles. Females locate grubs in the soil and sting them, causing a temporary paralysis which allows the wasp to lay an egg on a grub. After the egg hatches, the Tiphia larva attaches its mouthparts to the grub and feeds on the grub's body fluids. In 15-20 days the grub dies and the wasp larva spins a cocoon and overwinters in the host's earthen cell. Although native to Korea, China, and Japan, the spring Tiphia, T. vernalis, was established in the U. S. in 1925. Specific release sites are unrecorded and establishment of the parasitoids was unconfirmed. Between 1966 and 1979 attempts to establish T. vernalis in western North Carolina were renewed. Establishment was confirmed at 5 of the original 8 release sites in 1985. As part of a continuing program, collections of parasites were conducted in May 1994 using sugar water as a bait on leaves. However, it was noted that greater numbers of wasps were feeding on nectar which had splashed onto the leaves from blossoms of the tulip poplar, Liriodendron tulipifera. Aerial nets were used to collect 313 T. vernalis adults during a four day period. A proportion of the wasps were transported to Terceira, Azores and released. Monitoring of the release areas in 1995 will allow researchers in the Azores to determine if T. vernalis has successfully established there.