Assessing phenological synchrony between the Chinese sawfly, Cephus fumipennis, its egg-larval parasitoid, Collyria catoptron, and the North American sawfly, Cephus cinctus: Implications for biological control
- Source:
- Canadian Entomologist 2016 v.148 no.4 pp. 482-492
- Subject:
- Cephus cinctus, Collyria catoptron, beneficial insects, biological control, diapause, eclosion, eggs, host-parasite relationships, hosts, indigenous species, insect control, insect development, introduced species, larvae, parasitoids, phenology, sawflies, spring, Montana
- Abstract:
- Many pest and beneficial insects overwinter as larvae in a state of diapause, with development resuming in the spring. In these cases, rates of post-diapause development of parasitoids must be synchronized with the vulnerable life stages of their hosts. Phenological asynchrony between introduced parasitoids and their targeted hosts has limited the success of some biological control efforts. Here, we assessed the potential synchrony between Collyria catoptron Wahl (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae), a parasitoid of the Chinese wheat stem sawfly, Cephus fumipennis Eversmann (Hymenoptera: Cephidae), which is being considered as a biological control against a novel host species, Cephus cinctus Norton, in North America. We compared development timing and emergence patterns of both the native and exotic species of sawflies with that of the parasitoid. Our results showed that the mean number of days between termination of larval diapause and adult eclosion varied by less than one day across species, and patterns of emergence were also similar. The rate of development of this egg-larval parasitoid was within the range necessary to attack C. cinctus eggs. Furthermore, the development of C. cinctus from western Montana most closely matched that of the parasitoid, suggesting western Montana as a possible release area.
- Agid:
- 62790
- Handle:
- 10113/62790
- https://doi.org/10.4039/tce.2015.64