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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Gainesville, Florida » Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology » Insect Behavior and Biocontrol Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #143031
Title: OVIPOSITION AND ISOLATION OF VIABLE EGGS FROM ORIUS INSIDIOSUS IN A PARAFILM AND WATER SUBSTRATE: COMPARISON WITH GREEN BEANS AND USE IN ENZYME-LINKED IMMUNOSORBENT ASSAY.

Author
item Shapiro, Jeffrey
item Ferkovich, Stephen

Submitted to: Annals of the Entomological Society of America
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/3/2006
Publication Date: 5/20/2006
Citation: Shapiro, J.P., Ferkovich, S.M. 2006. Oviposition and isolation of viable eggs from Orius insidiosus in a parafilm and water substrate: Comparison with green beans and use in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 99(3):586-591.

Interpretive Summary: Numerous species of beneficial insects and mites are reared in insectaries for use in controlling pests. To reproduce large numbers of beneficial arthropods, eggs must be collected to start the next generation. Some species of insect predators, such as the minute pirate bug Orius insidiosus, lay eggs inextricably in plant material. Growing or otherwise obtaining the best plant parts for this purpose and maintaining them under sanitary conditions is difficult, so artificial substrates for egg deposition may be preferable. A novel substrate has now been devised to stimulate egg deposition and serve as a repository and collection device for O. insidiosus eggs. It consists of water enclosed in a hemispherical dome of waxy sealing material (Parafilm®) bonded to a base of butcher paper. O. insidiosus females were shown to lay eggs in this substrate in numbers greater than those laid in Blue Lake variety green beans and in numbers equal to those laid in broad beans. This substrate allows collection of large numbers of clean eggs from O. insidiosus and possibly from other commercially significant species of Orius for use in rearing and experimentation. This discovery will contribute to increased ease and decreased costs of rearing large numbers of beneficial insects such as the minute pirate bug, and help to supplant the use of insecticides for insect control on vegetable and ornamental crops.

Technical Abstract: The predaceous anthocorid Orius insidiosus (Keller) naturally oviposits into plant parts. The use of natural oviposition substrates in mass rearing Orius spp. suffers from problems with microbial contamination and consistent availability. A new oviposition substrate was devised for O. insidiosus by forming water domes in Parafilm®. Eggs are deposited through the Parafilm® skin into water, where they remain viable for at least 24 h. Eggs were easily extracted by slicing the domes, rinsing eggs, and collecting them on black filter paper. The substrate compared favorably with two varieties of green bean with regard to oviposition rates, hatch rates, and survival of first instar nymphs. In no-choice tests, one-third the number of eggs were laid in Blue Lake green beans (1.9 eggs/female/day) as in the artificial substrate (5.7 eggs/female/day), while comparable numbers were laid in French green beans (7.1 eggs/female/day) and in the artificial substrate (7.2 eggs/female/day). For French beans vs. water domes, hatch rates (66% vs. 64%) and survival rates (51% vs. 64%) were not significantly different. The mechanisms of attraction to and oviposition into natural and artificial substrates are unknown. However, a propensity to oviposit into plants, into paraffin-covered carrageenan domes, or into Parafilm®-covered domes containing carrageenan or water indicates that a chemical characteristic common to plant cutin, paraffin, and Parafilm®, such as hydrocarbon composition, may be responsible.