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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Columbia, Missouri » Biological Control of Insects Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #172742
Title: DEVELOPMENT OF AN ARTIFICIAL DIET AND EVALUATION OF ARTIFICIAL OVIPOSITIONAL SUBSTRATES FOR THE IN VITRO REARING OF GONATOCERUS SPP. PARASITOIDS OF THE EGGS OF GLASSY-WINGED SHARPSHOOTER, HOMALODISCA COAGULATA

Author
item Coudron, Thomas

Submitted to: CDFA Pierce's Disease Control Program Research Symposium
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/13/2004
Publication Date: 12/20/2004
Citation: Coudron, T.A. 2004. Development of an artificial diet and evaluation of artificial ovipositional substrates for the in vitro rearing of gonatocerus spp. parasitoids of the eggs of glassy-winged sharpshooter, homalodisca coagulata [abstract]. CDFA Pierce's Disease Control Program Research Symposium. p. 304.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The glassy-winged sharpshooter (GWSS) is the primary vector of the bacteria, Xylella fastidiosa (Xf), the causative agent of Pierce's disease (PD) in California. GWSS has a wide host range, and many of these plants can serve as reservoirs for the bacterium, necessitating control of GWSS not only in cropping systems at risk of the disease, but in adjacent urban and natural areas as well. Unfortunately the utilization of large-scale applications of pesticides to manage GWSS negatively impacts IPM programs for other pests and is neither an economically feasible nor an environmentally sustainable long-term strategy. Therefore, the development of an effective biological control program for GWSS is an important part of an integrated pest management program for the containment of PD. Surveys of beneficials in Texas and California revealed that Gonatocerus spp. parasitoids are a predominant and effective natural enemy of GWSS in the field. However, sufficient natural control of GWSS using Gonatocerus spp. will probably not be achieved without augmentation of natural populations. Currently, augmentation of Gonatocerus spp. in many areas of California relies on the labor-intensive process of rearing the parasitoid on host eggs collected from the field. However, complications with the mass rearing of GWSS and the preservation of GWSS eggs make the development of an artificial diet, capable of supporting larval and pupal development of Gonatocerus, critical to the success of an in vitro rearing program. This will require the development of an artificial diet and ovipositional substrate as part of an in vitro mass rearing system for Gonatocerus spp.