Hadronotus pennsylvanicus (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae): A biological control agent for pestiferous leaffooted bugs (Hemiptera: Coreidae)

Authors: Boyle, Sean; CORNELIUS, MARY - Retired ARS Employee; TALAMAS, ELIJAH - Florida Department Of Agriculture And Consumer Services; STRASER, ROBERT - University Of California, Riverside; WILSON, HOUSTON - University Of California, Riverside; DAANE, KENT - University Of California Berkeley; Weber, Donald; KUHAR, THOMAS - Virginia Tech

Submitted to: Journal of Integrated Pest Management
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/27/2024
Publication Date: 4/4/2024
Citation: Boyle, S.M., Cornelius, M., Talamas, E.J., Straser, R.K., Wilson, H., Daane, K.M., Weber, D.C., Kuhar, T.P. 2024. Hadronotus pennsylvanicus (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae): A biological control agent for pestiferous leaffooted bugs (Hemiptera: Coreidae). Journal of Integrated Pest Management. 15(1): 15;. https://doi.org/10.1093/jipm/pmae007 .
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jipm/pmae007 

Interpretive Summary: Several species of leaffooted bugs (family Coreidae) are serious pests of vegetable, fruit, and nut crops. Biological control by natural enemies such as the egg parasitoid Hadronotus pennsyvlanicus can have a strong impact on these pest problems by killing leaffooted bug eggs and thereby reducing their populations. This profile summarizes current knowledge about Hadronotus pennsylvanicus, and how it may be useful in pest management. The main hosts that H. pennsylvanicus attacks are squash bugs (genus Anasa) and leaffooted bugs (genus Leptoglossus), both of which are native and widespread in North America. Squash bugs attack most cucurbit crops, and their serious damage by feeding and pathogen transmission may be suppressed by naturally-occuring H. pennsylvanicus and by augmentation of early-season parasitoids. Leptoglossus species include serious pests of almonds, pistachios, pomegranates, conifer seeds including pine nuts, and other crops including fruiting vegetables such as tomatoes and peppers. Hadronotus can also be an important natural enemy of leaffooted bugs in these crops. The western conifer seed bug (Leptoglossus occidentalis) has invaded Europe and Asia, and is causing significant economic losses to the European pine nut industry. H. pennsylvanicus is a candidate for introduction biological control to Europe, with the potential to suppress these invasive populations. An understanding of H. pennsylvanicus taxonomy, life history, host range, parasitoid-host ecology, laboratory rearing, and field deployment techniques form a strong foundation for future biological control programs. This natural enemy profile reviews these important discoveries concerning H. pennsylvanicus and serves as a useful resource for researchers and pest managers in crops affected by leaffooted bug pests.

Technical Abstract: In recent decades, egg parasitoid Hadronotus pennsylvanicus (Ashmead) has gained substantial attention as an important natural enemy of pestiferous leaffooted bug species in the genera Anasa Amyot and Serville and Leptoglossus Guérin-Méneville. Throughout its native range of North America, H. pennsylvanicus parasitizes Anasa and Leptoglossus eggs in various vegetable and orchard systems. The overreliance on broad-spectrum insecticides in these systems and demand for effective and sustainable coreid pest management strategies has motivated researchers to consider H. pennsylvanicus as an augmentative biological control agent. The potential use of Hadronotus pennsylvanicus as a classical biological control agent has also been studied in Europe in response to the rapid spread of Leptoglossus occidentalis Heidemann, an invasive pest causing significant economic losses to the European pine nut industry. Valuable improvements in our understanding of H. pennsylvanicus taxonomy, life history, host range, parasitoid-host ecology, laboratory rearing, and field deployment techniques have created a robust scaffold on which to build future biological control programs. This natural enemy profile reviews the current advances in the aforementioned areas of H. pennsylvanicus research and outlines the parasitoid’s prospects as a biological control agent.