Life History and Host Preference of Trichopria drosophilae from Southern China, One of the Effective Pupal Parasitoids on the Drosophila Species.

Chuandong Yi,Xuxiang Liu,Qiwen Zhang,Guofu Ao,Jianquan Yang,Pumo Cai,Qinge Ji,Huimin Xia,Jia Lin

doi:10.3390/insects11020103

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate several life-history traits of a T. drosophilae population from southern China and its parasitic preference of three Drosophila species. For mated T. drosophilae females, the mean oviposition and parasitization period were 27.20 and 37.80 d, respectively. The daily mean parasitization rate was 59.24% per female and the lifetime number of emerged progeny was 134.30 per female. Trichopria drosophilae females survived 37.90 and 71.61 d under host-provided and host-deprived conditions, respectively. To assess the potential for unmated reproduction in T. drosophilae, the mean oviposition and parasitization period of unmated females was 22.90 and 47.70 d, respectively. They had a daily mean parasitization rate of 64.68%, produced a total of 114.80 offspring over their lifetime, and survived 52 d. Moreover, T. drosophilae showed a preference towards D. suzukii based on the total number of emerged offspring under a choice test. Our findings indicate that T. drosophilae from southern China appears to be suitable for the control of D. suzukii in invaded areas, due to its reproductive potential.

Highlights

Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) (Diptera: Drosophilidae), the spotted wing drosophila, is a polyphagous pest of soft and thin-skinned fruit crops, with negative economic effects in its native continent of Asia [1]
The objective of this study is to evaluate the biological traits of promising southern Chinese populations of T. drosophilae by assessing its effectiveness in controlling D. suzukii
Drosophila suzukii populations were collected from infested waxberries; D. melanogaster and D. immigrans were collected from rotten berries

Summary

Introduction

Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) (Diptera: Drosophilidae), the spotted wing drosophila, is a polyphagous pest of soft and thin-skinned fruit crops, with negative economic effects in its native continent of Asia [1]. The repeated and extensive use of insecticides may cause a series of secondary problems, such as that from pesticide residues, insect resistance, pest resurgence, and negative effects on pollinators and natural enemies [12,13,14]. Alternative management measures such as preventive and sanitation strategies, mass trapping, sterile insect releases and biological control are currently under evaluation [15,16,17,18,19,20]

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