Premium
Survival of the parasitoid Encarsia formosa after treatment of parasitized greenhouse whitefly larvae with fungal spores of Aschersonia aleyrodis
Author(s) -
Lenteren Joop C.,
Fransen Joanne J.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
entomologia experimentalis et applicata
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.765
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1570-7458
pISSN - 0013-8703
DOI - 10.1111/j.1570-7458.1994.tb01790.x
Subject(s) - biology , parasitoid , aphelinidae , spore , parasitism , larva , biological pest control , greenhouse whitefly , hymenoptera , natural enemies , botany , whitefly , homoptera , pest analysis , ecology , host (biology) , trialeurodes
The interaction between the entomopathogenic fungus Aschersonia aleyrodis and the parasitoid Encarsia formosa on greenhouse whitefly as a host organism was studied, in particular, the survival of the parasitoid after treatment of parasitized hosts with fungal spores. The mean number of parasitized black pupae per parasitoid produced at 25°C was significantly reduced after spore treatment in the first three days following parasitization. Spore treatment four, seven or ten days after parasitization resulted in a mean number of parasitized pupae not significantly different from the number of black pupae in the control. The rather sudden change from low to high survival of parasitized hosts when treated with spores four days after parasitization in spite of high numbers of infected unparasitized larvae, coincided with the hatching of the parasitoid larva from the egg inside the host. Possible reasons for this decrease in susceptibility to infection after parasitoid egg hatch, such as induced changes in host cuticle or haemolymph, are discussed. Parasitoids emerged from treated hosts did not show differences in reproduction compared with parasitoids emerging from untreated hosts. Both natural enemies of whitefly are compatible to a great extent.