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Reproductive efficiency of the bethylid wasp Cephalonomia tarsalis: the influences of spatial structure and host density

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 October 2016

P.A. Eliopoulos ,
A. Kapranas ,
E.G. Givropoulou  and
I.C.W. Hardy
P.A. Eliopoulos*
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Technologists, Technological Educational Institute of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece
A. Kapranas
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Technologists, Technological Educational Institute of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Leicestershire, LE12 5RD, UK Department of Biology, National University of Ireland, Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland
E.G. Givropoulou
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Technologists, Technological Educational Institute of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece
I.C.W. Hardy
Affiliation:
School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Leicestershire, LE12 5RD, UK
*
*Author for correspondence Phone: +302410684280 Fax: +302410613153 E-mail: eliopoulos@teilar.gr
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Abstract

The parasitoid wasp Cephalonomia tarsalis (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae) is commonly present in stored product facilities. While beneficial, it does not provide a high degree of biological pest control against its host, the saw-toothed beetle Oryzaephilus surinamensis (L.) (Coleoptera: Silvanidae). A candidate explanation for poor host population suppression is that adult females interfere with each other's foraging and reproductive behavior. We used simple laboratory microcosms to evaluate such mutual interference in terms of its overall effects on offspring production. We varied the density of the hosts and also the spatial structure of the environment, via the extent of population sub-division and the provision of different substrates. Production of C. tarsalis offspring was positively influenced by host density and by the isolation of females. With incomplete sub-division within microcosms offspring production was, in contrast, low and even zero. The provision of corrugated paper as a substrate enhanced offspring production and partially mitigated the effects of mutual interference. We recommend simple improvements to mass rearing practice and identify promising areas for further behavioral and chemical studies towards a better understanding of the mechanisms of mutual interference.

Keywords

mutual interferenceCephalonomia tarsalisOryzaephilus surinamensisstored productsbehavioural and chemical interactions
Type
Research Papers
Information
Bulletin of Entomological Research , Volume 107 , Issue 2 , April 2017 , pp. 139 - 147
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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