Performance of the parasitoid species Aphelinus asychis Walker (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae), Aphidius ervi (Haliday)\xa0(Hymenoptera: Braconidae) and Diaeretiella rapae (McIntosh) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), using Myzus persicae (Sulzer) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) as host

Surjeet Kumar,Shruti Kashyap,Saurbh Soni

doi:10.1186/s41938-020-00309-x

Abstract

Three parasitoid species viz. Aphelinus asychis Walker (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae), Aphidius ervi (Haliday) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) and Diaeretiella rapae (McIntosh) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) parasitizing the aphid species Myzus persicae (Sulzer) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) in mid-hills of north India were studied. At different locations and times of the year, the parasitization by A. asychis, A. ervi, and D. rapae ranged from 7.53 to 37.58, 4.26 to 80.45, and 74.25 to 80.48%, respectively. All the 3 parasitoids successfully completed their development on different nymphal instars of the aphid host and the total developmental duration of A. asychis, A. ervi, and D. rapae ranged 10.4–14.6, 24.2–29.6, and 10.2–15.2 days, respectively. It was significantly longer on the 1st nymphal instar of the host. The longevity of the female parasitoids was significantly longer than their counterparts. Differences in host age significantly influenced the longevity of female parasitoids and it was more on 1 to 2-day-old nymphs than that on 4 to 5-day-old nymphs. Fecundity and ovipositional periods of the parasitoids on younger (1–2 days old) host age group were considerably prolonged than on the older ages of the aphid. Average total fecundity of A. asychis and D. rapae was significantly higher when parasitizing 1–2-day-old nymphs. In A. asychis, host feeding behavior was also observed by a total host feeding of 89.2 aphids (1–2 days old) and 43.4 aphids (4–5 days old) during its life span. It is concluded that A. asychis, A. ervi, and D. rapae can be mass reared using M. persicae as host and can be utilized successfully in augmentative biological control program.

Highlights

Myzus persicae (Sulzer) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) feeds on over 500 host plants belonging to 40 unlike families and various chief agricultural crops cultivated in natural fields and protected environments (Byeon et al 2011)
Natural parasitism Survey revealed the prevalence of 3 main parasitoid species viz. A. asychis, A. ervi, and D. rapae infesting M. persicae in mid-hills of north India
A. asychis and A. ervi were recorded parasitizing M. persicae infesting C. annuum grown in polyhouses, whereas D. rapae was recorded on 3 aphid species viz. B. brassicae, L. erysimi, and M. persicae infesting Brassica oilseed crops under open field conditions

Summary

Introduction

Myzus persicae (Sulzer) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) feeds on over 500 host plants belonging to 40 unlike families and various chief agricultural crops cultivated in natural fields and protected environments (Byeon et al 2011) It is an important pest of cucumber, capsicum, carnation, and gerbera grown under protected environment and oilseed brassicas under open field conditions (Sanchez et al 2010 and Kumar and Gavkare 2014). The extensive use of these chemicals has ensued in several problems like insecticide resistance, resurgence of minor insect pests, and mortality of beneficial organisms. All these harmful consequences of injudicious use of pesticides have guided to the evolution of integrated pest management, wherein biological control is a very important component. Many biocontrol agents (parasitoids, predators, and entomopathogens) associated with M. persicae have been reported from distinct parts of the world (van Emden et al 1969 and Perdikis et al 2008)

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