Abstract
This work was initiated for the first time to identify parasitoid species associated with the immature stages of <i>Pieris rapae</i> (L.) inhabiting cabbage plantations in Assiut governorate, Upper Egypt during the 2018 and 2019 cabbage growing seasons. Attacking periods and parasitism percentages (PPs) of the identified parasitoid species were calculated. One solitary parasitoid species, <i>Hyposoter ebeninus</i> was found to attack <i>P. rapae</i> larvae in the field 110 days after transplantation. However, one hyperparasitoid species <i>Baryscapus galactopus</i> was recorded as an internal gregarious hyperparasitoid of <i>H. ebeninus</i>. The solitary larval parasitoid <i>H. ebeninus</i> strikes were recorded throughout the last five weeks of the season with a marked decline before harvesting. Although <i>H. ebeninus</i> revealed 42.00% abundance, it presented 21.69% PP on <i>P. rapae</i> larvae during the entire period of study. One solitary, <i>Brachymeria femorata</i> and two gregarious parasitoid species [<i>Pteromalus puparum</i> (L) and <i>Tetrastichus</i> sp. (Haliday) were recorded as <i>P. rapae</i> pupae parasitoids on October, 2<sup>nd</sup>. Parasitism peak was recorded on October, 16<sup>th</sup> with an average of 56.25%. The first appearance of the gregarious pupal parasitoid <i>P. puparum</i> was recorded on October, 9<sup>th</sup>. Four weeks later, the second gregarious parasitoid (<i>Tetrastichus</i> sp.) was recorded on November, 6<sup>th</sup>. Both pupal gregarious parasitoid species were found to be active until harvesting. The gregarious parasitoid <i>P. puparum</i> presented high PP (23.73%) as compared with <i>Tetrastichus</i> sp. which exhibited 6.96% PP during the entire period of study. In conclusion, two solitaries, one hyperparasitoid, and two gregarious parasitoid species were identified. Pupal gregarious parasitoid species together reduced <i>P. rapae</i> pupae populations by 30.69%. These parasitoids could be used in the IPM programs for this pest in the future. At the same time, the effect of hyperparsitoides must be taken into consideration.
Highlights
The white butterfly (WB), Pieris rapae (Linnaeus, 1758) (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) occurs in temperate regions around the world
Data revealed that P. puparum ranked the first and presented the highest parasitism percentages (PPs) with an average of 23.73% compared with Tetrastichus sp which exhibited 6.96% PP during the entire period of study
These results of the current investigations are in agreement with those obtained by the earliest, Abbas and Hassanein (1989) [9] who recorded the absolutely first parasitism in Egypt on P. rapae larvae in cabbage fields
Summary
The white butterfly (WB), Pieris rapae (Linnaeus, 1758) (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) occurs in temperate regions around the world. Parasitoid species of P. rapae in northern Egypt were surveyed by Kolaib et al [3]. (Hymenoptera: Chalicididae) and the gregarious pupal parasitoid, Pteromalus puparum L. In a field study in Kafr ElSheikh Egypt, Awadalla et al [4] reported that P. rapae attacking cabbage plants was subjected to attack by the pupal parasitoids B. femorata and P. puparum. El-Husseini et al [5] found five parasitoid species associated with P. rapae when surveyed cabbage plantation in old cropland middle Egypt. The five recorded species were Trichogramma buesi V., Cotesia glomerata (L.), Hyposoter ebeninus Grav., Brachymeria femorata Panz, and Pteromalus puparum L. The main objective of this manuscript is to identify parasitoid species attacking P. rapae immature stages (larvae and pupae) inhabiting cabbage plantations in the reclaimed areas in Assiut, Upper Egypt. Parasitism percentages (PP) on larvae and pupae were estimated by the equations used by Puneeth, & Vijayan [7], Bhat [8] as follows: PP
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