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Parasitoid assemblage associated with a N orth A merican pine weevil in S outh A frica
Author(s) -
Wondafrash Mesfin,
Slippers Bernard,
Garnas Jeff,
Hurley Brett P.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
agricultural and forest entomology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.755
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1461-9563
pISSN - 1461-9555
DOI - 10.1111/afe.12246
Subject(s) - weevil , parasitoid , biology , eulophidae , parasitism , botany , pinus radiata , pest analysis , biological pest control , ecology , host (biology)
Abstract The weevil Pissodes sp. was first reported as an introduced pest on exotic Pinus spp. in S outh A frica in 1942. It is only recently that the native wasp Pycnetron pix P rinsloo was described from S outh A frica as a parasitoid of this weevil. We estimated the frequency and distribution of the association between P. pix and Pissodes sp., as well as the occurrence of possible other natural enemies. Parasitoids were reared from Pissodes ‐infested Pinus radiata D . D on and Pinus patula S chiede ex S chltdl. & C ham logs collected from major Pinus ‐growing regions. The identity of parasitoids was confirmed using morphological and molecular techniques. Parasitism was confirmed by analyzing gut content sequences of parasitoids. Pycnetron pix was found parasitizing Pissodes sp. throughout major Pinus ‐growing provinces of the country. Another native parasitoid, Cratocnema sp., is reported for the first time as a parasitoid of Pissodes sp. Rhopalicus tutela ( W alker), a known parasitoid of Pissodes spp. in their native range, was also detected and confirmed to be of E uropean origin. Although characterized by an erratic distribution and a low parasitism rate, an accruing suite of natural enemies was documented, suggesting that there is potential for augmentative biological control of Pissodes sp. in S outh A frica.