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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Gainesville, Florida » Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology » Mosquito and Fly Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #117584
Title: INFLUENCE OF TEMPERATURE ON DEVELOPMENT TIME AND LONGEVITY OF TACHINAEPHAGUS ZEALANDICUS ASHMEAD (HYMENOPTERA: ENCYRTIDAE), AND EFFECTS OF NUTRITION AND EMERGENCE ORDER OF LONGEVITY.

Author
item DE ALMEIDA, MARIA - UNIV OF CAMPINAS/BRAZIL
item PORES DO PRADO, ANGELO - UNIV OF CAMPINAS/BRAZIL
item Geden, Christopher - Chris

Submitted to: Environmental Entomology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/1/2001
Publication Date: 4/1/2002
Citation: DE ALMEIDA, M.F., PORES DO PRADO, A., GEDEN, C.J. INFLUENCE OF TEMPERATURE ON DEVELOPMENT TIME AND LONGEVITY OF TACHINAEPHAGUS ZEALANDICUS ASHMEAD (HYMENOPTERA: ENCYRTIDAE), AND EFFECTS OF NUTRITION AND EMERGENCE ORDER OF LONGEVITY. ENVIRONMENTAL ENTOMOLOGY. 2002. v.31(20).p.375-380.

Interpretive Summary: Parasitic wasps are important tools for managing house flies and stable flies on livestock and poultry farms. Native species of wasps attack the flies when they are pupae, and numerous studies have shown that releases of these wasps on farms can help control flies while reducing the use of chemical insecticides. Because some of the stages of the flies are not attacked by native species of wasps, there is a need to evaluate exotic species that may compliment the ability of our native species to control pest species. In the present study, scientists at USDA's Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology (Gainesville, FL) and the University of Campinas (Brazil) evaluated a species of wasp (Tachinaephagus zealandicus) that attacks flies when they are still in the larval stage. The wasps had greatest survival at moderate temperatures, and it was found that the inclusion of honey in their diets greatly improved their longevity. It was also found that wasps that emerged early were more healthy and vigorous that wasps that emerged later. These results will facilitate future rearing efforts for eventual release of the wasps for fly control on U.S. livestock and poultry farms.

Technical Abstract: Tachinaephagus zealandicus Ashmead is a gregarious endoparasitoid that attacks third instars of muscoid flies in the Souther Hemisphere. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the influence of six constant temperatures (16, 18, 20, 22, 25 and 27 degrees C) on development time, the influence of emergence order on longevity, and the effects of temperature and food treatment on longevity. Emergence success was greatest at 22 degrees C for both males and females; significantly fewer (24.1-30.4%) parasitoids emerged at 16 degrees C and 25 degrees C compared with 22 degrees C. Development time ranged from 24.0 to 56.9 days for both sexes. No emergence was observed at 27 degrees C. Early-emerging parasitoids had greater longevity than parasitoids that emerged later from the same cohorts. The longevity of females given honey and water decreased with increasing temperature, and those reared at 16 degrees C lived about three times longer than those kept at 27 degrees C. Females given honey and water had similar longevities at 16-20 degrees C, and females that were given only water lived for only 4.8-7.6 days at all temperatures. Females lived significantly longer overall than males at all temperatures except 16 degrees C, but differences due to sex were small compared to the effects of temperature and nutrition. Further investigations will be necessary to determine the climatic zones in which T. zealandicus is most likely to be an effective biological control agent of muscoid flies.