Host Suitability of House Fly,Musca domestica(Diptera: Muscidae), Pupae Killed by High or Low Temperature Treatment for a Parastoid,Spalangia endius(Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae)

Kohei Ogawa,Tatsuya Fukuda,Ryo Arakawa,Shin-Ichi Tebayashi,Katsura Ito

doi:10.1100/2012/214907

Abstract

The objective of this study was to establish a high quality progeny production system for the house fly parasitoid, Spalangia endius (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae), by stockpiling hosts. We performed two host killing methods before host storage: (i) heat-killed by 30 min exposure to 50°C or (ii) freeze-killed by 10 min exposure to −80°C. The average number of parasitoids that emerged from nonstored house fly pupae after heat- or freeze-killing was not significantly different from live pupae. When house fly pupae stored at −20°C after heat-killing were supplied to S. endius, progeny production was significantly less than live pupae. Moreover, productivity became very low when house fly pupae refrigerated at 3°C after heat- or freeze-killing were supplied to S. endius. On the other hand, when house fly pupae stored at −80°C for 1 year after heat-killing were supplied to S. endius, the average number of parasitoids that emerged was not significantly different from live pupae. The average number of parasitoids that emerged from freeze-killed hosts kept for more than 8 weeks at −80°C was significantly fewer than live pupae. Thus, this study clarified that a higher-quality host can be maintained not only by simply storing at –80°C but also by adding heat treatment before storage.

Highlights

The house fly, Musca domestica L. (Diptera: Muscidae), is one of the most common pests of confined livestock such as dairy and poultry
In the field surveys of parasitoid activity using laboratory reared pupae as sentinel hosts, live pupae are only useful for a few days after pupation
Killed hosts for field surveys are possible to place for a long time

Summary

Introduction

The house fly, Musca domestica L. (Diptera: Muscidae), is one of the most common pests of confined livestock such as dairy and poultry. The number of livestock farmers using biological control methods to control such pests is increasing because of the development of insecticide resistance and the general movement toward sustainable pest control systems including integrated pest management (IPM) [1]. To use parasitoids for sustainable management, a mass rearing system of both parasitoids and hosts should be established. It is necessary to produce large numbers of hosts and parasitoids simultaneously and continuously, this demands a great deal of time and effort. The ability to stockpile high-quality hosts during the off-season would provide a way of scaling up parasitoid production more rapidly as the fly season approaches and would give producers a way to respond to fluctuations in demand for parasitoids ([7]; referred to in [6])

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion