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Title: IMMUNOLOGICAL DETECTION OF HYMENOPTERAN PARASITISM IN HELICOVERPA ZEA AND HELIOTHIS VIRESCENS (CHANGE TITLE AND ADD ACCEPT. DATE)

Author
item STUART, MELISSA - KIRKSVILLE COL OSTEOP MED
item Greenstone, Matthew

Submitted to: Biological Control
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/14/1997
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Parasitic "micro-wasps" kill millions of insect pests every year. However this information cannot be used for pest management because the exact amount of micro-wasp parasitism at any given time and place cannot be easily determined. We developed a monoclonal antibody that can be used to determine whether caterpillars of two major cotton pests, the cotton bollworm and tobacco budworm, are parasitized by two major micro-wasp species. This antibody also reacts with several other micro-wasp species, and may therefore be useful to study parasitism on other insect pests. The antibody could be incorporated into a "quick kit" suitable for use by consultants advising growers on pest management practices. Use of this technology would enable growers to reduce their use of chemical insecticides under circumstances where micro-wasp parasitism is sufficient to reduce pest numbers below economically damaging levels.

Technical Abstract: We have developed a monoclonal antibody that recognizes the larval and adult stages of Microplitis croceipes (Cresson) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) and Cotesia marginiventris (Cresson) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), two principal endoparasitoids of the polyphagous pests Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and Heliothis virescens (F.) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). The antibody has been incorporated into an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) that can be used to distinguish parasitized from unparasitized pest insects. The antibody cross-reacts with several different hymenopteran parasitoids, but not with any of the noctuid pests we have assayed. An immunoassay based on a broadly reactive antibody such as this one enables comprehensive detection of hymenopteran parasitism with a single antibody reagent.