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Title: KAIROMONAL EFFECT OF WALKING TRACES FROM EUSCHISTUS HEROS (HETEROPTERA: PENTATOMIDAE) ON TWO STRAINS OF TELENOMUS PODISI (HYMENOPTERA: SCELIONIDAE)

Author
item BORGES, MIGUEL - EMBRAPA GENETIC RESOURCES
item COLAZZA, STEFANO - S.EN.FI.MI.ZO.DEPARTMENT
item RAMIREZ-LUCAS, PAMELA - 33 RUE DE PLOUGASTEL
item CHAUHAN, KAMLESH - 1275-17-00
item ALDRICH, JEFFREY - 1275-17-00

Submitted to: Physiological Entomology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/13/2003
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Interpretive Summary: Many kinds of stink bugs (family Pentatomidae) are important pests in a variety of crops, including grains, fruits, nuts and vegetables. Biological control of stink bugs is the most desirable method of stink bug control, and the most effective natural enemies of stink bugs are small wasps that are parasitic on the eggs of these bugs. Therefore, research is being conducted to learn how certain parasitoids find the eggs of their particular host stink bug in nature, and to develop methods to mass-produce these egg parasitoids for biological control. Two strains (originating from North and South America) of one kind of egg parasitoid were found to be able to recognize that their host stink bug had been in an area from traces left by a walking female bug. Sensing the footprints of their stink bug host caused the female wasps to search intensively in the area for bug eggs in which to lay their eggs. While females of the South American strain were shown to be better at tracking stink bug footprints that were wasps from the North American strain, wasps of the North America strain were much more cold tolerant than those of the South American strain. Efforts are continuing to identify the chemicals used by the parasites to track their host and to develop a hybrid strain combining cold tolerance with superior host tracking ability. Successful completion of this research could lead to commercialization of this improved strain of egg parasitoid for mass release in crops for stink bug biocontrol.

Technical Abstract: Technical Abstract: We investigated the semiochemical cues used by geographically isolated strains of the parasitoid, Telenomus podisi, to find eggs of the stink bug Euschistus heros. Two strains of Te. podisi, maintained on eggs of a South American host (E. heros) were studied. One parasitoid strain originated from specimens collected near Brasilia, Brazil (SA strain), and a second strain originated from specimens collected at Beltsville, Maryland (NA strain). Cold tolerance tests of adults from the NA and SA Te. podisi strains, analyses of the cuticular hydrocarbons between the two strains, and crossing experiments between strains each indicated consistent differences between the NA and SA strains. Later, experiments using E. heros showed that SA Te. podisi females specifically recognize traces left on the substrate by walking E. heros females and then intensively search the area of the ¿footprints¿, apparently looking for an egg mass to parasitize. On the contrary, NA Te. podisi females are incapable of recognizing the footprints of E. heros females despite the fact that these parasitoids were reared from eggs of E. heros. The possibility that the two strains are actually different species is discussed.