Abstract
The hop looper, Hypena humuli Harris (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is becoming an increasingly important pest of hops (Humulus lupulus L.) (Rosales: Cannabaceae) in western USA. Currently, control of this pest usually involves broad-spectrum pesticides that kill natural enemies and disrupt biological control of other hop pests. In order to develop better management strategies for H. humuli, field and laboratory studies were conducted over a four-year period to identify the pest's natural enemies and to investigate their phenologies and to assess their impact. Nine parasitoid species and assorted species of invertebrate predator were found to attack different life-stages of H. humuli. Levels of parasitism were consistently low throughout the study period and none of the parasitoids found was a specialist natural enemy of the pests. Exclusion cage studies showed, however, that the complex of natural enemies as a whole can significantly reduce larval densities of the pest, and laboratory studies confirmed successful predation of H. humuli larvae by several generalist predators including the European earwig (Forficula auricularia L.), the damsel bug Nabis alternatus Parshley and two species of the geocorid bug genus Geocoris.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
