Abstract
Drosophila suzukii is an invasive fly of East Asian origin that has become a serious fruit pest worldwide. Classical biological control through the introduction of parasitoids from Asia could help reduce populations of D. suzukii in invaded regions. Little is known about the native parasitoids of the fly in Asia. Therefore, surveys for larval parasitoids of D. suzukii were carried out in China and Japan between 2015 and 2017. Parasitoids of D. suzukii and other fruit-inhabiting drosophilids (D. pulchrella and D. subpulchrella) that are probably attacked by the same parasitoid complex were found in four Chinese provinces and four Japanese prefectures. Larval parasitoids were obtained at most sites where D. suzukii was found, with parasitism varying from 0.0 to 75.6%. At least eight parasitoid species were reared. The most abundant and frequent parasitoids were the Figitidae Ganaspis cf. brasiliensis and Leptopilina japonica, but another Leptopilina species and at least five Braconidae species belonging to the genera Areotetes, Asobara and Tanycarpa were obtained in low numbers. Due to its likely restricted host range, the most promising parasitoid for biological control is Ganaspis cf. brasiliensis. However, its exact specificity and taxonomic status require future research.
Highlights
Drosophila suzukii is an invasive fly of East Asian origin that has become a serious fruit pest worldwide
I.e. the introduction of larval parasitoids from the region of origin of the pest that are specialised in parasitizing D. suzukii, could help reduce populations at the landscape level and, decrease the need for management
We report on surveys made from 2015 to 2017 in 12 Chinese Provinces and five Japanese prefectures to gather quantitative data on larval parasitism of D. suzukii
Summary
In the majority of samples, D. suzukii was accompanied by two congeneric species that are able to attack fresh fruits, D. pulchrella at high altitudes in Yunnan and Sichuan Provinces (China) and D. subpulchrella in Japan and at lower altitudes in China (Beijing and Hubei Provinces). This confirms the geographic range of the two species described[31]. This is the first time that D. pulchrella and D. subpulchrella have been sampled for parasitism These two species occur nearly always together with D. suzukii and pupae of the three Drosophila species are morphologically indistinguishable, it was impossible to determine from which host the parasitoids emerged.
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