Insemination potential of male Trichogramma evanescens

Reproduction strategies of male parasitoids have received less attention than those of the females. In hymenopteran parasitoids that reproduce by arrhenotokous parthenogenesis, virgin females are able to reproduce, but they are constrained to produce only males. In such species, the number of sperm transferred to females is of prime importance for female reproductive success. In this study, we measured the insemination potential of male Trichogramma evanescens Westwood (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae). Independent of their age and their sperm‐depletion status, males continued to mate with females until the end of their life. They quickly depleted their sperm supply by fertilizing 18 females during their lifetime, among which 80% were inseminated during the first 24 h. They fathered around 400 daughters over their lifetime. Our results suggest an absence of imaginal spermatogenesis in T. evanescens males that can be designated as prospermatogenic. Sperm is thus a limited resource in this species and females might encounter males with varying amounts of sperm.     

Wolbachia在我国广赤眼蜂种群内的感染

Wolbachia是广泛分布于节肢动物生殖组织内的一类细胞内共生菌,它属于原细菌的α亚类,能够通过调控寄主的生殖活动而促进其在寄主种群中的扩散。通过对wsp 基因的克隆及PCR-RFLP分析确定了Wolbachia在我国广赤眼蜂种群内的存在,并发现有2种Wolbachia 菌系的感染,命名为wEvaA和wEvaB。经过克隆分离得到了这2种Wolbachia的wsp基因序列,在GenBank的登录号为AY390279和 AY390280 ,并由基于wsp基因的聚类树中发现,这两种Wolbachia菌系均属于A组。     

Studies on Strains of Trichogramma evanescens Westwood from Different Regions of Eurasia

Strains of Trichogramma evanescens Westwood (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) collected from six different geographical regions in Eurasia were compared in terms of their biological and morphological characteristics and electrophoretic patterns. Significant differences were observed between the strains for biological characteristics such as the proportion of female progeny, developmental period, longevity, proportion of adults emerging and fecundity. Strains from the Altai region in Russia were more fecund at all hygrothermal conditions in which they were reared (27 C, 80% relative humidity (RH); 27 C, 40% RH; 23 C, 80% RH; and 23 C, 40% RH). Poor adult emergence took place at 27 C and 40% RH in strains from Moldavia and Slovakia. Morphological examination of male antennae showed that strains from Moldavia and Slovakia had the highest ratio of the length of antennal hairs to the maximum width of flagellum. The patterns of esterases after electrophoresis indicated that strains differed in the mobility and intensity of esterase bands. Electrophoretic and morphological relationships among the strains did not correspond with their biological relationships. The possibility of the use of strains from the Altai region in Russia in biocontrol programmes in southern parts of Europe is discussed.     

Male reproductive strategy in Trichogramma evanescens: sperm production and allocation to females

Abstract.  The production and allocation of sperm among successive mates during a male's life largely determine its fitness. The sperm production pattern and sperm allocation to females is studied in Trichogramma evanescens , a short-lived egg parasitoid of several lepidopteran species. At emergence, virgin males have an average of 1607 ± 249 sperm stored in the seminal vesicles and no further production occurs during adult life. These males are able to mate with at least 20 females in rapid succession. During the first 10 matings, the males transfer approximately 100 sperm each time and then transfer fewer and fewer sperm per mating. The number of sperm stored in spermathecae of successively mated females remains relatively constant for the first 10 females, and decreases slowly for the subsequent females. The relationship between male reproductive strategy and some life-history traits are discussed.     

Impact of the Timing of Male Emergence on Mating Capacity of Males in Trichogramma evanescens Westwood

In species with highly structured population, such as Trichogramma spp., mating occurs mostly at emergence on the patch and early emerging males have an advantage, as they are present when the first females emerge. However, early emergence of male could also enable males to mature sexually before the emergence of females or enhance their capacity to induce higher receptivity in females. We measured time of emergence of male and female Trichogramma evanescens Westwood (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) from hosts that were parasitized within a 30 min period. We also measured the effect of male age on their capacity to mate, and the ability of inseminated females to produce daughters. To verify if early emerging males induced higher receptivity in females, we observed the females mate choice between males of different ages. Our results indicated that the mean time of emergence between males and females was 29 min for individuals that develop in 9 days and 10 min for individuals that develop in 10 days. The protandry observed in this species could be the result of either a faster development of males or a male first strategy by the ovipositing female. In T. evanescens, protandry does not permit males to mature sexually nor to induce higher receptivity in females. The main advantage of protandry for males thus appears to be early access to females as they emerge.     

Efficacy of Trichogramma evanescens in controlling the grape berry moth Lobesia botrana in grape farms in Egypt

Abstract

The present work was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of Trichogramma evanescens (Westwood) in controlling the grape berry moth Lobesia botrana (Schiff) in two grape farms, in El-Beheira and El-Gharbia Governorates, northern Egypt during 2004 and 2005 seasons. T. evanescens was mass produced on Sitotroga cerealella (Olivier) eggs in the National Research Centre in Egypt. The horizontal and vertical searching activity of T. evanescens was studied to determine the proper way of distributing the Trichogramma cards in vineyards. Field experiments were also conducted to evaluate T. evanescens efficacy to control L. botrana on a large scale. Parasitism by T. evanescens on L. botrana eggs was greatly affected with the horizontal or vertical distance from the release points as well as with the rate of release. Parasitism reached over 97% and the percentage of reduction in damage caused by the pest reached 96.8% in treated plots. A significant increase in the crop was achieved in treated plots. T. evanescens could be a potential candidate for biological control of the grape moth in vineyards.     

Costs and benefits of polyandry in the egg parasitoid Trichogramma evanescens Westwood (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae)

Polyandry implies costs (i.e., time, energy, predation risk, etc.) especially in short-lived parasitoid species but females of several hymenopteran parasitoid species, mostly gregarious, do mate with multiple males. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the benefits of polyandry but controversy remains, especially in facultative gregarious species that bridge the gap between solitary and gregarious development. In this study, we investigated the possibility that polyandry may bring material benefits to Trichogramma evanescens Westwood (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) females, a short-lived and facultative gregarious egg parasitoid. Females mated several times with different males both at emergence and throughout their life. No significant difference was found in the offspring sex ratio and the fecundity of multiple mated and single mated females and pre-mating duration increased with the female’s age. The longevity of females did vary significantly with the number of matings but only in the presence of hosts. Female T. evanescens received enough sperm from one mating to allocate an optimal offspring sex ratio and we found no evidence of either nutritional resources or convenience polyandry in this species. Polyandry in facultative gregarious parasitoids might be an adaptive strategy to minimize the risk of mating with males that have already emptied their sperm bank or to accumulate sperm from several partially sperm-depleted males. Polyandry may also increase the probability of non-sib mating in patches exploited by several females.     

阿维菌素对广赤眼蜂（Trichogramma evanescens）不同发育阶段的毒性和实验种群动态的影响

研究了阿维菌素对广赤眼蜂不同发育阶段的毒性和实验种群动态的影响.结果表明,阿维菌素田间推荐剂量喷雾处理可显著降低米蛾卵内广赤眼蜂的羽化率;除卵期外,其它3种发育阶段经该药处理,羽化后的雌蜂寿命显著缩短,其中预蛹和蛹期处理雌蜂前翅畸形率高达43.3%～47.2%,影响程度随着其生长发育的进行呈增大趋势.根据药膜法剂量与效应测定结果,广赤眼蜂成蜂对阿维菌素比较敏感,LC50值为2.1991mg·L-1.温室盆栽试验表明,1.8%阿维菌素乳油对广赤眼蜂成蜂的持效期为10d,具有一定程度的残留毒性.广赤眼蜂的蛹经阿维菌素亚致死剂量LC35处理后,发育至成蜂,除羽化后的雌蜂产卵量显著减少外,雌蜂寿命、子代羽化率和子代性比与对照并无显著差异.生命表参数显示,LC35处理后的广赤眼蜂净增值率和世代平均历期明显地低于对照,但内禀增长率、周限增长率和种群倍增时间与对照差异不明显.可以认为阿维菌素亚致死剂量对广赤眼蜂的种群没有重要影响.     

Diurnal rhythm of emergence from pupae in parasitic wasp Trichogramma evanescens Westw. (Insecta: Hymenoptera)

Abstract

Pupal eclosion of Trichogramma evanescens Westw. was studied in different conditions of light‐darkness and temperature fluctuations. The results revealed that under natural light cycles Trichogramma exhibits a distinct rhythm of emergence from pupae. Maximum emergence takes place in the morning. This rhythm persists in constant dim red light and temperature, so it is endogenous in nature. The rhythm can be entrained by artificial 24‐h temperature cycles or by day‐night cycles of light with a very low intensity of illumination (<0.01 lux). Nevertheless a single pulse of bright light or of high temperature is not able to reset the rhythm. The emergence rhythm was also absent if the culture was grown in constant darkness and temperature.     

Effect of Ferula assafoetida essential oil on some biological and behavioral traits of Trichogramma embryophagum and T. evanescens

Fumigant toxicity of the essential oil of Ferula assafoetida L. (Umbelliferae), a potent botanical insecticide against carob moth, was investigated under laboratory conditions on the fitness of two carob moth egg parasitoids, Trichogramma embryophagum (Hartig) and T. evanescens Westwood (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae). The fertility life table parameters were assessed for both species at two different treatments, essential oil and ethanol as control. Although these two species were not affected similarly by the essential oil, exposure to 877 ppm (LC₀₁) in both species significantly reduced the longevity and fecundity of females, as well as the survival, developmental time, wing normality and sex ratio of their progeny. Effects of the essential oil on reproductive behavior of Trichogramma species were also investigated. Under oil treatment, despite that mate searching time increased, the percentage of mating occurrence, the duration of copulation, and sex ratio of F1 progeny declined. Given the negative effects of F. assafoetida essential oil on the two tested wasps, complementary studies are needed to develop the best management strategy for using the oil as environmentally friendly compound in combination with Trichogramma wasps against herbivorous insects.     

Efficiency,intrinsic competition and interspecific host discrimination of Copidosoma desantisi and Trichogramma evanescens,two parasitoids of Phthorimaea operculella

Trichogramma evanescens West. (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) and Copidosoma desantisi Annecke & Mynhardt (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) are potential parasitoids of the potato tuber moth (PTM), Phthorimaea operculella (Zeller) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) in Egypt. Discrimination of a parasitized host from an unparasitized host would prevent wasting of time, eggs and reduce competition with conspecifics or heterospecifics. Therefore, we evaluated interspecific host discrimination, multiparasitism and intrinsic competition between the two wasp species. In a choice test, females of T. evanescens showed high interspecific host discrimination only when they were offered 2-day-old C. desantisi parasitized and unparasitized PTM eggs. In contrast, C. desantisi showed high host discrimination and preferred unparasitized eggs to PTM eggs harboring 2-h- or 2-day-old T. evanescens’ eggs. We also evaluated the effect of different introduction sequences on the efficacy of the two wasps. Dissection data indicated that the two parasitoids had a negative impact on each other. There was a significant reduction in the total number of deposited eggs as well as total number of parasitized hosts by each parasitoid. Regarding the rearing experiment, the total number of T. evanescens-induced black eggs or C. desantisi formed mummies in combined treatments was significantly lower than in single parasitoid treatments (control). Moreover, C. desantisi was inferior and did not develop from any multiparasitized host regardless of oviposition order. It was suggested that combined release of the two wasps would not elevate rate of parasitism over that of single parasitoid treatments and competition between them would reduce their efficacy.     

The impact of cold storage durations on Trichogramma evanescens (Westwood) (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) during their pupal stage

This experimental study was done at the Biological Control Laboratory, Sakha Agricultural Research Station, Sakha, Kafrelsheikh, Egypt. We aimed to estimate the impact of different cold (10 °C) storage durations [0 (non-cold-stored parasitized eggs), 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, and 30 days], on Trichogramma evanescens (Westwood) (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) during the pupal stage using the eggs of Sitotroga cerealella after exposing to T. evanescens. The emergence percentage of non-cold-stored eggs of S. cerealella was higher than all cold-stored durations. Also, the female’s percentages of T. evanescens in the cold storage durations were lower than the non-cold storage one, and they were influenced by extended cold storage durations. There were non-significant differences in the female’s longevity of T. evanescens obtained from 0, 3, and 6 days cold-stored parasitized eggs of S. cerealella at 10 °C, but it began to decrease from those produced after 9 days of cold-stored eggs. In addition, the emergence percentage in F1 progeny of T. evanescens was greater than 50% until 21 days of cold storage. It could be concluded that cold storage reduced the % emergence, % females, female’s longevity, and emergence percentage in F1 progeny of T. evanescens. For a successful biological control program, the decrease of T. evanescens performance after cold storage durations should be considered in mass production, and the release percentage should be increased by the equivalent of a lack of % emergence. Also, the economic importance of using cold storage periods in commercial mass rearing should be assessed in the biological control program.     

Comparative biology and life tables of Trichogramma evanescens and T. cacoeciae with Ephestia elutella as host at four constant temperatures

The age-specific fecundity of Trichogramma evanescens Westwood and T. cacoeciae Marchal (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) with Ephestia elutella (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae: Phycitinae) as host and the life span of the adults with and without hosts was determined at 20, 26, 30 and 35 °C and 75 ±5% r.h. in the laboratory. At 35 °C, no progeny emerged. The availability of hosts prolonged the longevity in both species. Longevity, percentage of parasitism, fecundity, and the intrinsic rate of natural increase were higher in T. evanescens than in T. cacoeciae. Trichogramma evanescens is expected to be more effective than T. cacoeciae for use in biological control of Ephestia spp., especially at low and high temperatures.     

Effect of cold storage of adult Trichogramma brassicae,T. cacoeciae and T. evanescens (Hym.: Trichogrammatidae)

Abstract

Trichogramma cacoeciae Marchall, T. brassicae Bezdenko and T. evanescens Westwood could be useful in biological control programmes of agricultural insect pest. The possibility of storing adult Trighogramma species at low temperatures, and the effect of such storage on the quality of the parasitoids and its fecundity were studied. Trighogramma cacoeciae, T. brassicae and T. evanescens adults were stored for 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 days at 4 ± 1°C in a refrigerator, 60 – 70%RH and full darkness. Storage at 4 ± 1°C reduced fecundity and longevity of female parasitoids.     

Evaluation of the efficacy of Trichogramma evanescens Westwood (Hym., Trichogrammatidae) inundative releases for the control of Maruca vitrata F. (Lep., Pyralidae)

Abstract: The bean podborer, Maruca vitrata (F.), is a serious pest on leguminous crops in the tropics. There are several natural enemies of M. vitrata present in the Philippines, but none of them suppress pest populations naturally below an economic threshold. The egg parasite Trichogramma evanescens Westwood is commercially available for augmentative biological control and a known parasite of podborer eggs. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of inundative releases of the egg parasite T. evanescens for controlling M. vitrata in the Philippines. In 1999 and 2000, controlled releases of T. evanescens were made in fields of yardlong bean, Vigna unguiculata, during the dry and rainy seasons in Central Luzon, Philippines. Adult populations of M. vitrata were monitored using light traps. Population density of M. vitrata was found to be positively correlated with rainfall and was subsequently higher during the rainy season, relative to that in the dry season. In quality control experiments, emergence of locally available T. evanescens was found to be highly variable between years, 72% in 1999 and 58% in 2000. The percentage of female parasites was 54% in both years. Survival of T. evanescens in the laboratory after 7 days was found to be only 29 and 21% in 1999 and 2000, respectively. Four parasite releases (each 150 000 wasps per hectare) spaced 7 days apart during the reproductive stage of V. unguiculata were made in three 5 × 5 m plots. Host finding efficacy was identified by exposing M. vitrata eggs laid on cowpea leaves in rearing chambers for 24 h in the fields. Percentage parasitism was higher during the dry season, relative to that in the rainy seasons. In release plots, parasitism increased by 53% during dry and by 43% during rainy season compared with control plots. Despite significant reductions in larval numbers during the dry season, no difference in percentages of pods damaged was found. In the rainy season, the number of larvae per plant and the percentage of pods damaged by M. vitrata larvae were not reduced by T. evanescens releases. The experimental results are critically discussed as a possible part of an integrated pest management system.     

Comparison Between the Control Efficacy of Trichogramma evanescens Westwood (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) and Two Trichogramma cacoeciae Marchal Strains Against Grapevine Moth ( Lobesia botrana Den. & Schiff.), Depending on Their Release Density

In the first generation of the grape moth Lobesia botrana, Trichogramma evanescens spread to a greater extent than Trichogramma cacoeciae and parasitized most of the grape moth eggs. Reduction of damage to grapes was improved by doubling the number of T. evanescens release points in the first and second generations. In the second generation of the grape moth, T. cacoeciae was more efficient than T. evanescens . The highest proportion of individuals belonging to the reared and natural T. cacoeciae strains were found in the plot in which they were initially released. The total number of individuals emerging from parasitized eggs eggs was the same for each strain, which would suggest that neither predominated. Whichever T. cacoeciae strain considered, a density of 800 release points ha -1 did not induce greater parasitization than a density of 400 release points ha -1 .     

Characterisation of immune responses in the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum

The innate immune system of insects provides effective defence against a range of parasites and pathogens. The pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum, is a novel study system for investigating host-parasite interactions due to its complex associations with both well-characterised bacterial symbionts and a diversity of pathogens and parasites, including several important biological control agents. However, little is known about the cellular and humoral immune responses of aphids. Here we identify three morphologically distinct types of haemocytes in circulation that we name prohemocytes, granulocytes and oenocytoids. Granulocytes avidly phagocytose Gram negative Escherechia coli and Gram positive Micrococcus luteus while oenocytoids exhibit melanotic activity. Prohaemocytes increase in abundance immediately following an immune challenge, irrespective of the source of stimulus. Pea aphids form melanotic capsules around Sephadex beads but do not form cellular capsules. We also did not detect any antimicrobial peptide activity in the haemolymph using zone of inhibition assays. We discuss these results in relation to recent findings from the pea aphid genome annotation project that suggest that aphids have a reduced immune gene repertoire compared to other insects.