Skip to main content
ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Systematic Entomology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #332678
Research Project: Systematics of Parasitic and Herbivorous Wasps of Agricultural Importance

Location: Systematic Entomology Laboratory

Title: An old remedy for a new problem? Identification of Ooencyrtus kuvanae (Howard) (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) as egg parasitoids of spotted lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae) in North America

Author
item LIU, HOUPING - Pennsylvania Department Of Agriculture
item Mottern, Jason

Submitted to: Journal of Insect Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/22/2016
Publication Date: 1/10/2017
Citation: Liu, H., Mottern, J.L. 2017. An old remedy for a new problem? Identification of Ooencyrtus kuvanae (Howard) (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) as egg parasitoids of spotted lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae) in North America. Journal of Insect Science. 17(1):1-6.

Interpretive Summary: The spotted lanterfly (SLF) is a relatively new pest in the United States (first recorded in 2014), with the potential to damage more than 70 woody plants and vines in 25 families, including apple, birch, grape, cherry, lilac, maple, poplar, and stone fruits. Natural enemy surveys near Boyertown, PA revealed a parasitoid wasp associated with SLF egg masses in the field, and subsequently reared from SLF egg masses in the laboratory. The parasitoids were identified as Ooencyrtus kuvanae (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), a species imported into the United States over 100 years ago for gypsy moth biological control. This is the first report of O. kuvanae attacking a non-lepidopteran host as a primary parasitoid. This work will benefit federal and state departments of agriculture and forestry by alerting them to the biological control potential of O. kuvanae, and by assisting with the identification of parasitoids in future natural enemy surveys of SLF populations.

Technical Abstract: Spotted Lanternfly (SLF), Lycorma delicatula (White) is a recently introduced pest of Tree-of-Heaven, Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle in North America. Natural enemy surveys for this pest in Pennsylvania in 2016 recovered an encyrtid egg parasitoid from both field collections and laboratory rearing of field-collected SLF egg masses. Both molecular and morphological data confirm that the egg parasitoids are Ooencyrtus kuvanae (Howard) (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae). Ooencyrtus kuvanae (Howard) is primarily an egg parasitoid of gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (L.), and was introduced to North America in 1908 for gypsy moth biological control. Though O. kuvanae is known to attack multiple host species, to our knowledge this is the first report of O. kuvanae as a primary parasitoid of a non-lepidopteran host. Potential of O. kuvanae in the biological control of L. delicatula in North America and research needs were discussed.