Biological control on crop infesting insects represent an useful method in modem agriculture. A search for parasitoids of the macadamia nutborer was carried out during a three year study, and their effect on the population fluctuation of the borer was determined. An egg parasitoid belonging to the family Trichogrammatidae and four larval parasitoids, Microgastrine I, Microgastrine II, Ascogaste...

The advent of parasite genome sequencing projects, as well as an increase in biology-directed gene discovery, promises to reveal genes encoding many of the key molecules required for nematode-host interactions. However, distinguishing parasitism genes from those merely required for nematode viability remains a substantial challenge. Although this will ultimately require a functional test in the...

the sunn pest, eurygaster integriceps puton, is a serious pest of wheat in coraim region of ardabil province. in this study, the egg parasitoids of sunn pest was collected and identified in this region during 2007 and 2008. also, the percentage of egg parasitism was determined in 14 different defined areas in this region. the areas 1-3 were selected in irrigated wheat fields in the presence of ...

The mutation accumulation hypothesis predicts that sex functions to reduce the population mutational load, while the Red Queen hypothesis holds that sex is adaptive as a defense against coevolving pathogens. We used computer simulations to examine the combined and separate effects of selection against deleterious mutations and host-parasite coevolution on the spread of a clone into an outcrossi...

The tea aphid ( Toxoptera aurantii Boyer de Fonscolombe) is an important plant pest insect worldwide. parasitoid wasp, Aphelinus sp., one of the most natural enemies in China. Unfortunately, sp. alone cannot effectively control outbreaks under conditions. In this study, 27 volatile compounds from aphid-injured shoots, flowers, sex pheromones, or body rinses were selected and tested Y-tube olfac...

Brood parasites are expected to lay only one egg per parasitized nest, as the existence of several parasitic nestlings in a brood increases competition and can lead starvation some them. However, multiparasitism (laying two or more eggs by females single host nest) is surprisingly frequent. Here, we study different same female (repeated parasitism) great spotted cuckoo Clamator glandarius, non-...

By combining pesticide exclusion and cage exclusion techniques, the efficacy of natural enemies in reducing populations of Spodoptera exigua (Hübner), the beet armyworm, larvae was effectively demonstrated. Larval collections added information about parasitism and disease, and when combined with data from insecticide treatments, demonstrated that differences in S. exigua population densities us...

Polyembryonic parasitoids producing single-sex broods of clonal offspring provide an unusually clear window into the classic tradeoff between the number and size of offspring. We conducted a laboratory study of the encyrtid parasitoid Copidosoma bakeri parasitizing the noctuid Agrotis ipsilon to examine the way that size and number of offspring tradeoff in broods of each sex and to determine ho...

parasitoids of the genus, trichogramma are the most widely used natural enemies for biological control of pests worldwide. the presence of flowering plants can improve efficiency of biological control agents by supplying sugar resource for parasitoids. in this study, two experiments were performed under laboratory condition (at 25±1ºc, 60±10% rh and a photoperiod 16l:8d), to evaluate the effect...