The effect of temperature on progeny allocation and short interval timing in a parasitoid wasp

Abstract The parasitoid wasp Trichogramma dendrolimi Matsumura sets the number of progeny allocated to its insect egg hosts according to the duration of its initial transit walk across the host surface. Although cooling the wasp reduces its walking speed, reduced temperature does not affect progeny allocation. By locally heating and cooling the wasps, the initial transit can be thermally uncoupled from the subsequent oviposition. Using this technique we show that the timing of initial transit duration is temperature-dependent. These findings suggest that short interval timing by Trichogramma differs physiologically from the temperature compensated clocks that have been described for other insects.     

Use of time in a decision‐making process by a parasitoid

1. Time perception is seldom studied in invertebrates, with the limited experimental evidence being insufficient to provide a comprehensive pattern of the capacity of invertebrates to measure time and use it in decision‐making processes. 2. In this study, it was hypothesized that insect parasitoids have evolved the capacity to measure time precisely and to use it to optimize foraging decisions related to host exploitation. To examine time perception in females of the gregarious egg parasitoid Trichogramma euproctidis, the present study used their ability to adjust their investment (number of eggs laid) in a host to the initial transit duration (interval between the first contact with the host and the following contact with the substrate). Females utilize this method to assess host egg size, as a large egg necessarily requires more time to evaluate than a small host. In this study, the initial transit duration for a given sized egg was artificially extended by suspending it. 3. For similar sized hosts, female T. euproctidis significantly increased both oviposition duration and progeny allocation following a longer initial transit duration. 4. These results demonstrate the intrinsic capacity of this parasitoid to measure time and to adjust their progeny investment accordingly. This is believed to be one of the few demonstrations of a retrospective measure of time in an invertebrate.     

Early oviposition experience affects patch residence time in a foraging parasitoid

Parasitoids learn olfactory and visual cues that are associated with their hosts, and use these cues to forage more efficiently. Classical conditioning theory predicts that encounters with high-quality hosts will lead to better learning of host-associated cues than encounters with low-quality hosts. We tested this prediction in a two-phase laboratory experiment with the parasitoid Trichogramma thalense Pinto & Oatman (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) and the host Anagasta kuehniella Zeller (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae).Host quality during the first exposure to hosts affected later foraging behavior for some experimental treatments, as predicted. We used a learning model, followed by patch-time optimization, to interpret our findings. We first simulated the parasitoids' host encounters during the experiment, and predicted their estimate of patch quality after each encounter. We then used dynamic optimization to predict the parasitoids' optimal patch residence times. The model reproduces the trends of the experimental results.     

Measurement and Selection of Parasitoid Quality for Mass-Reared Trichogramma minutum Riley Used in Inundative Release

Parasitoid quality, subject to both genetic and environmental influences, is critical to the success of any biological control program, however, its measurement and improvement is poorly understood. In this study, a classic genetic approach is taken to develop two indices, namely a character index and a fitness index, for the measurement and selection of high quality parasitoids used in inundative release. Six life-history traits and corresponding fitness components in 33 inbred strains of Trichogramma minutum were used to generate both genotypic and phenotypic variance-covariance matrices that then allowed for the construction of the indices. Most traits and their fitness components were positively correlated, both phenotypically and genotypically, with lifetime fecundity and the number of female offspring appearing to have an important influence. Selection of the top three strains showed that parasitoid quality could be improved by 36% using the character index and possibly up to 150% using the fitness index. The two indices were linearly correlated suggesting that either could be used to measure quality. The character index is recommended because it requires information on only three life-history traits (fecundity, number of female offspring, and number of male offspring) and has highly correlated responses of fitness components. Our work demonstrates that the best quality T. minutum will be obtained by using the character index to select for inbred strains which have high fecundity and number of female offspring.     

Response of the egg parasitoid Trichogramma pretiosum to the sex pheromone of its host Heliothis zea

This paper presents results of olfactometer experiments with the egg parasitoid Trichogramma pretiosum Riley (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) and its host the corn earworm moth, Heliothis zea (Boddie) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). The sex pheromone of the host significantly reduced the total number of border crossings between odour fields in the olfactometer. Also, female parasitoids made significantly more visits to the calling moth odour field than to the opposite control field in the olfactometer. Further, the wasps spent significantly more time in the olfactometer field containing the sex pheromone released by calling virgin moths, than in control fields. If non-calling virgin moths were used as odour source, the response was reversed and wasps were repelled by the odour of the moths, and the numbers of visits were evenly distributed over the four flow fields. These results are discussed in the context of foraging ecology of egg parasitoids.

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Résumé Des expériences menées en olfactométrie avec le parasite oophage Trichogramma pretiosum Riley (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) et son hôte, Heliothis zea (Boddie) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) donnent les résultats suivants. La présence de la phéromone sexuelle de l'hôte réduit de façon significative le nombre de passages entre les champs odorisés. De mème, les parasites visitent plus fréquemment le champ qui dispense l'odeur de la femelle en appel que le champ témoin placé à l'opposé. Par ailleurs, le temps passé dans le champ qui contient la phéromone sexuelle émise par les femelles vierges en appel est significativement supérieur à la durée de visite des champs témoins. Si l'on utilise comme source d'odeur des femelles vierges qui ne sont pas en appel, la réponse est inversée, les parasites sont alors repoussés par l'odeur de ces papillons et le nombre de visites est distribué de façon aléatoire entre les quatre champs. Ces résultats sont discutés dans le contexte de l'écologie du comportement de recherche chez les parasites oophages.

     

Isolation of microbes associated with field-collected populations of the egg parasitoid,Trichogramma chilonis capable of enhancing biotic fitness

Four bacterial and one yeast species, cultured and identified as Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Acinetobacter sp., Pseudomonas sp. and Ochrobactrum sp. and the yeast as Metschnikowia reukaufii, were isolated from the internal organs of four collections of field-sourced egg parasitoid, Trichogramma chilonis, obtained as parasitised Helicoverpa armigera eggs. Bacteria were identified through 16 rRNA amplification and sequencing. The single species of yeast was identified through internal transcribed spacer sequences. A single bacterial species could be isolated from each of the four T. chilonis collections; however, all four T. chilonis collections yielded the yeast, M. reukaufii. In order to study the influence of the association of each of the bacterial species and the yeast, microbe-free laboratory-bred populations of T. chilonis were fed with the individual cultures and fitness parameters as parasitisation vigour and female bias were studied in T. chilonis over 10 generations. T. chilonis fed with either S. maltophilia or Acinetobacter sp. and Pseudomonas sp. showed a mean percent increase in female ratio of 26.2%, 30% and 30.3% and mean percent parasitisation of H. armigera eggs significantly increased by 38%, 32.2% and 31.3%, respectively. However, T. chilonis fed with Acinetobacter sp. did not positively influence the two T. chilonis fitness factors. The ubiquitous yeast, M. reukaufii, which could be isolated from all four collections of T. chilonis, could significantly increase both female count and percent parasitism ratio by 22% and 65%, respectively. This study has opened the possibility of modulating the parasitisation fitness of laboratory-bred T. chilonis, prior to field release, using microbes associated with them in the wild.     

艾叶精油对玉米螟赤眼蜂的影响及两者对米蛾的联合作用

玉米螟赤眼蜂是生物防治中一种重要的天敌昆虫,为探明艾叶精油对玉米螟赤眼蜂的影响及两者对米蛾的联合防治效果,本文研究了艾叶精油熏蒸、触杀、驱避活性对玉米螟赤眼蜂的影响及艾叶精油和玉米螟赤眼蜂对米蛾的联合作用。结果表明,艾叶精油熏蒸和触杀处理对玉米螟赤眼蜂卵具有明显影响,寄生在米蛾卵上的玉米螟赤眼蜂卵经0.1、0.2、0.3、0.4、0.5、0.6μg/cm3艾叶精油熏蒸处理72h后玉米螟赤眼蜂的羽化率分别为56.67%、49.33%、44.00%、33.33%、26.00%和14.67%;寄生在米蛾卵上的玉米螟赤眼蜂卵经100、200、300、400、500、600mg/L艾叶精油触杀处理72h后玉米螟赤眼蜂的羽化率分别为54.00%、45.33%、38.00%、28.67%、18.00%和6.00%,均与对照组表现出显著性差异。艾叶精油驱避活性对玉米螟赤眼蜂成蜂也有明显的影响,300mg/L艾叶精油对玉米螟赤眼蜂的驱避率79.05%,随着时间间隔和距离间隔的增加,这种影响作用降低;联合应用艾叶精油与玉米螟赤眼蜂时先释放玉米螟赤眼蜂,24h后再滴加艾叶精油的防治效果最佳,米蛾的死亡率可高达96%。     

不同温度下稻螟赤眼蜂在黏虫卵上的种群生命表

稻螟赤眼蜂Trichogramma japonicum Ashmead是水稻二化螟Chilo suppressalis(Walker)的优势卵寄生蜂。本文构建了以黏虫卵为中间寄主,稻螟赤眼蜂在20℃、25℃、30℃、33℃四个温度条件下的生命表。研究结果表明利用黏虫卵繁育稻螟赤眼蜂时,不同温度下其生长发育和繁殖均存在显著差异,雌蜂平均寿命随温度的升高呈下降趋势,在20℃条件下,雌蜂平均寿命为1.44 d,显著长于其它温度,当温度为30~33℃时,雌蜂寿命最短,平均为0.59 d。在温度为20℃和25℃时,稻螟赤眼蜂的羽化率显著高于温度较高的30℃和33℃,平均为94.73%。在25℃条件下,黏虫卵繁育的稻螟赤眼蜂的净生殖力(R 0)最大,达到31.9176,单雌寄生卵数最多,为32.88个,表现出最强的繁殖能力,而在30℃条件下,瞬时增长率r m和周限增长率λ达到最大值。综合生命表参数、单雌寄生黏虫卵数、寿命、羽化率等指标,利用黏虫卵工厂化繁殖稻螟赤眼蜂的最佳温度为25℃。本研究为利用黏虫卵大量繁殖稻螟赤眼蜂提供了有价值的参考。     

赤眼蜂分子鉴定研究进展

赤眼蜂是害虫生物防治中的重要天敌资源。该属种类繁多,已报道有200余种,其蜂种的正确鉴定与选择是影响其田间防效的重要因素。依赖雄成蜂外生殖器形态特征的传统赤眼蜂分类鉴定技术不仅对专业技术要求高、耗时费力,而且无法用于孤雌产雌品系的种类鉴定以及近缘种的区分。分子鉴定技术可以通过选择合适的分子标记,为赤眼蜂鉴定提供准确、便捷、高效的方法。本文对赤眼蜂分子鉴定中分子标记的选择及常用分子鉴定方法进行了综述,并提出了未来可能的发展方向。     

不同释放密度和高度对稻螟赤眼蜂防控两种水稻螟虫效果的影响

稻螟赤眼蜂Trichogramma japonicum Ashmead是二化螟Chilo suppressalis(Walker)和稻纵卷叶螟Cnaphalocrocis medinalis(Guenée)的优势卵寄生蜂。为优化稻螟赤眼蜂田间释放技术,作者分别在安徽、福建和贵州进行了稻螟赤眼蜂不同释放高度和密度对防控两种水稻螟虫效果影响的田间试验。结果表明,对于防控稻纵卷叶螟,释放量一定时,赤眼蜂在稻株顶部以上5 cm高度、8点/0.07 hm 2释放密度的防治效果优于其他释放密度和高度的处理。而对于防控二化螟,不同释放高度对赤眼蜂防治效果差异不显著。