In-field production of parasitoids of Dysaphis plantaginea by using the rowan aphid Dysaphis sorbi as substitute host

A system was developed to provide the parasitic wasp Ephedrus persicae Froggatt (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Aphidiinae), which attacks the rosy apple aphid Dysaphis plantaginea (Passerini) (Homoptera: Aphididae), with the alternative host Dysaphis sorbi Kaltenbach (Homoptera: Aphididae) in apple orchards. Rowan trees (Sorbus aucuparia L.) arranged along the side of an unsprayed orchard were artificially infested in late February 2002 with eggs of D. sorbi. Colonies of D. sorbi successfully developed from the introduced eggs and persisted on several trees until the end of June. The only primary parasitoid species emerging from a sample of mummified aphids collected in spring from the infested rowan trees was the braconid wasp species E. persicae. In a host-switching experiment, nymphs of D. plantaginea proved suitable for female parasitoids originating from mummified D. sorbi. A series of mummies collected from the rowan trees in early summer contained diapausing parasitoids and hyperparasitoids that only hatched in April of the following spring. These observations suggest the possibility of establishing a local population of E. persicae in apple orchards, so that D. plantaginea can be readily attacked by diapause-emerging parasitoids in early spring.