Abstract
The adventive arrival of biological control agents circumvents the regulatory process by introducing exotic species to control invasive pests and is generally followed by post hoc risk evaluation. The bean plataspid, Megacopta cribraria (Fabricius) (Hemiptera: Plataspidae), is an invasive pest of leguminous crops in the south-eastern United States that was eventually followed by two parasitoid wasps from its range in the eastern hemisphere, Paratelenomus saccharalis (Dodd) (Scelionidae) and Ooencyrtus nezarae Ishii (Encyrtidae). In North Central Florida, sentinel egg masses, intended to capture Paratelenomus saccharalis, instead yielded Ooencyrtus nezarae, which was previously known only from Alabama (Ademokoya et al. 2018). Two generations of O. nezarae were subsequently reared in the laboratory. COI sequences from the Florida population of O. nezarae differed by 1.3% from the Alabama population and the presence of a different haplotype suggests the possibility of a separate introduction. Laboratory parasitism rates, sex ratios, morphology, molecular diagnosis and implications for agriculture are discussed.
Highlights
The term “fortuitous biological control” was coined by DeBach (1971), referring to the unintentional introduction of natural enemies of invasive species
We recently discovered wild O. nezarae in North Central Florida
The ease by which it can be reared suggests it may be a suitable candidate for future biological control projects requiring a generalist parasitoid, such as augmentative biological control programmes for growers dealing with hemipteran pests
Summary
The term “fortuitous biological control” was coined by DeBach (1971), referring to the unintentional introduction of natural enemies of invasive species. The original essay is obscure, the phenomenon received further treatment in DeBach and Rosen (1991), who estimated that 43% of exotic beneficial arthropods in the United States arrived by accident Their analyses focused on parasitoids of scale insects, reasoning that parasitoids, whose hosts are small and sessile on plants, are moved through international agricultural trade. This phenomenon has received renewed attention in recent years, due in part to the highprofile case of the samurai wasp, Trissolcus japonicus (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) (Talamas et al 2015, Milnes et al 2016, Servick 2018, Stahl et al 2018). This, eliminated the possibility of an escape from quarantine and suggested that the samurai wasp found its own way to the New World (Talamas et al 2015)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
