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The biology of Meteorus gyrator (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a solitary endoparasitoid of the tomato moth, Lacanobia oleracea (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

H.A. Bell ,
G.C. Marris ,
J. Bell  and
J.P. Edwards
H.A. Bell*
Affiliation:
Central Science Laboratory, Sand Hutton, York, YO41 1LZ, UK
G.C. Marris
Affiliation:
Central Science Laboratory, Sand Hutton, York, YO41 1LZ, UK
J. Bell
Affiliation:
Central Science Laboratory, Sand Hutton, York, YO41 1LZ, UK
J.P. Edwards
Affiliation:
Central Science Laboratory, Sand Hutton, York, YO41 1LZ, UK
*
*Fax: 01904 462111 E-mail: h.bell@csl.gov.uk
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Abstract

There is a need to identify potential biological control agents for use against lepidopterous pests in greenhouses. The solitary endoparasitoid Meteorus gyrator(Thunberg) attacks a range of macrolepidopterous larvae, including those of some important horticultural pest species. Laboratory trials designed to investigate the biology of M. gyrator on larvae of the tomato moth, Lacanobia oleraceaLinnaeus, reveal that this parasitoid is capable of parasitizing all larval stages of its host, third instars being parasitized most frequently. Each female parasitoid lives for up to 40 days (at 25°C), ovipositing into an average of 78 hosts. Preadult development is rapid (~ 2 weeks), and the sex ratio of offspring is 1:1. Parasitism by M. gyrator suppresses the growth of both early and late host instars, and there is a concomitant reduction in the amount of food consumed (overall feeding reduction over a 12 day period is 68%). Our results indicate that inoculative releases of M. gyrator could provide effective biological control of L. oleracea and other noctuid pests of greenhouses.

Type
Research Article
Information
Bulletin of Entomological Research , Volume 90 , Issue 4 , August 2000 , pp. 299 - 308
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2000

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