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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Newark, Delaware » Beneficial Insects Introduction Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #392409
Research Project: Biology, Ecology, Genetics, and Genomics of Introduced Species for Biological Control of Invasive and Other Insect Pests

Location: Beneficial Insects Introduction Research Unit

Title: Demography and fitness of Anastatus japonicus reared from Antheraea pernyi as a biological control agent of Caligula japonica

Author
item WEI, XIAO-YAN - Jilin Agricultural University
item CHEN, YONG-MING - Jilin Agricultural University
item Wang, Xingeng
item RUI-E, LV - Guizhou University
item ZANG, LIAN-SHENG - Guizhou University

Submitted to: Insects
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/28/2022
Publication Date: 3/31/2022
Citation: Wei, X., Chen, Y., Wang, X., Rui-E, L., Zang, L. 2022. Demography and fitness of Anastatus japonicus reared from Antheraea pernyi as a biological control agent of Caligula japonica. Insects. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects13040349.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/insects13040349

Interpretive Summary: Japanese giant silkworm is a newly emerging defoliator pest of forest and fruit trees. It is causing severe economic losses in East Asia but has not yet been reported in North America. Current control strategies rely on broad-spectrum insecticides. To develop effective and environmentally friendly biological control strategies for this pest, we used an alternate host (Chinese oak silkworm egg) to rear a major parasitic wasp of the Japanese giant silkworm and evaluated the efficiency of reared wasps on the target pest. Our results showed that this parasitic wasp can be efficiently reared on this alternate host egg, and the reared wasps had a high biological control potential against the target pest.

Technical Abstract: Japanese giant silkworm (JGS), Caligula japonica Moore, is an emerging defoliator pest of forest and fruit trees in East Asia, causing severe economic losses. To develop a cost-effective biological control program against JGS, we used eggs of an alternate host, Chinese oak silkworm (COS) Antheraea pernyi Guérin-Méneville, to rear the dominant JGS egg parasitoid Anastatus japonicus Ashmead and compared some key demographic parameters and total reproductive rates of the parasitoid parasitizing JGS and COS using a two-sex life table method. The results showed that A. japonicus performed differently on these two hosts. Anastatus japonicus parasitizing COS eggs had a higher lifetime fecundity (369.7 eggs per female) and longer ovipositional period (35.9 days) than those parasitizing JGS eggs (180.9 eggs and 24.0 days). Consequently, A. japonicus parasitizing COS eggs had a higher intrinsic rate of increase, net reproduction rate and finite rate of increase than those parasitizing JGS eggs. The total net reproductive rate (eggs / parasitoid) of A. japonicus parasitizing COS eggs was 284.9, significantly higher than that of A. japonicus parasitizing JGS eggs (150.0), while the net non-reproductive parasitism rate of the former (0.0) was significantly lower than the latter (9.6). These results suggest that A. japonicus can be efficiently reared on this alternate host (COS) eggs, and the reared parasitoids had a high biological control potential against the target pest.