Biological Traits of the Pincer Wasp Gonatopus Flavifemur (Esaki & Hashimoto) Associated with Different Stages of Its Host, the Brown Planthopper, Nilaparvata Lugens (Stål).

Jiachun He,Yuting He,Xiangsheng Chen,Qiang Fu,Fengxiang Lai

doi:10.3390/insects11050279

Jiachun He, Yuting He + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/insects11050279

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Abstract

Gonatopus flavifemur (Esaki & Hashimoto) is a common parasitoid of the most important rice pest, the brown planthopper (BPH) Nilaparvata lugens (Stål), in eastern and southeastern Asia. We investigated the parasitism rates, feeding rates, and offspring development of G. flavifemur in association with five instars of BPH nymphs and male and female adults under laboratory conditions (27 ± 1 °C and 70 ± 5% Relative Humidity). The results showed that the life stage of the host significantly affects parasitism, host feeding, and offspring development by G. flavifemur. The parasitism rate was highest on 4th instar nymphs, and the feeding rate was highest on 1st instar nymphs. The cocooning rate on male adult BPHs was significantly lower than that on other stages; however, emergence rates did not significantly differ among the BPH stages. The rate of female offspring upon emergence from 5th instars was higher than other stages. Both the parasitism and host-feeding functional responses of G. flavifemur to different BPH stages fit well with Holling type II models, supporting the results of parasitism and feeding rates and indicating that G. flavifemur would be a good agent for BPH control. In conclusion, G. flavifemur prefers to feed on young nymphs but prefers to parasitize older nymphs. In addition, 5th instar nymphs are favorable to female offspring of the pincer wasp.

Highlights

Dryinids are the main parasitic wasps of planthoppers in rice fields and can parasitize and feed on both nymphs and adults [1]
We examined the efficacy of G. flavifemur against brown planthopper (BPH) and evaluated the effect of host stage on the development of
Parasitism and host-feeding rates of G. flavifemur were significantly different between the life stages of BPHs (Tukey’s multiple comparison tests: parasitism: F = 11.52, df = 6/58, p < 0.001; host feeding: F = 39.69, df = 6/58, p < 0.001) (Figure 2A,B)

Summary

Introduction

Dryinids are the main parasitic wasps of planthoppers in rice fields and can parasitize and feed on both nymphs and adults [1]. 12 dryinid species have been reported to parasitize rice planthoppers in China. G. flavifemur (Esaki & Hashimoto), Gonatopus nigricans (R.C.L. Perkins), Haplogonatopus oratorius (Westwood), Haplogonatopus apicalis R.C.L. Perkins, and Echthrodelphax fairchildii R.C.L. Perkins are reported to be common species in rice fields [2,3,4,5]. Gonatopus flavifemur (Esaki & Hashimoto, 1932) (synonym: Pseudogonatopus flavifemur Esaki & Hashimoto) is one of the most common natural enemies of rice planthoppers (Delphacidae) in China [6]. This species is consistently characterized by sexual dimorphism [7], and the wingless, ant-like female (Figure 1B)

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