Abstract
Infection of parasitized Spodoptera litura (Fabricius) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) larvae by a granulovirus (GV) deleteriously affected the development of the endoparasitoid Chelonus inanitus (Linnaeus) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae). When second-instar parasitized S. litura larvae were inoculated with GV, the percentages of emergence, pupation, and adult eclosion of C. inanitus were significantly lower from GV-infected hosts than those from uninfected ones. Lower parasitoid emergence was due to the earlier death of parasitized and GV-infected hosts and slower development of parasitoid larvae in GV-infected hosts than in uninfected ones. Some of the parasitoid larvae that emerged from GV-infected hosts died before pupation and adult eclosion as a result of lower external feeding on GV-infected cadavers. Furthermore, the body volume of parasitoids developing in GV-infected hosts was significantly lower than that of parasitoids developing in uninfected hosts. The experiment in which host cadavers and emerged parasitoids were switched revealed that external feeding of parasitoids was affected both by infection of host cadavers with GV and also by parasitoid development within GV-infected hosts. Our data show that GV infection of S. litura larvae has deleterious effects on C. inanitus development.
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