The braconid Cotesia plutellae (Kurdjumov) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) is a major solitary, larval endoparasitoid of the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae). The impact of dietary protein was investigated in the laboratory by comparing performance of C. plutellae on honey, which is commonly used to rear the parasitoid, to that on a novel diet made of honey and pr...

Fly pupae, primarily house fly (Musca domestica Linnaeus) and stable fly (Stomoxys calcitrans (Linnaeus)) (Diptera: Muscidae), were collected from a poultry house in northern Indiana, and parasitoid wasps developing in them were allowed to emerge. Fly pupae density, relative species abundance, and size varied with collection date. Four species of parasitoid wasps were reared from the fly pupae:...

Oneof the fundamentalquestions inevolutionaryecology seeks tounderstandhownew biodiversity is created and structured into communities. The apple maggot, Rhagoletis pomonella (Walsh) (Diptera: Tephritidae), a model for rapid ecological speciation via host plant shifting for phytophagous insects, and its parasitoid community can offer insight into answering this and other related questions. Speci...

Parasitoid wasps produce virulence factors that bear significant resemblance to viruses and have the ability to block host defense responses. The function of these virulence factors, produced predominantly in wasp venom glands, and the ways in which they interfere with host development and physiology remain mysterious. Here, we report the discovery of a specialized system of canals in venom gla...

larvae of dicrodiplosis manihoti harris (dip., cecidomyiidae) are the predator of mealybug ovisacs (hem.: pseudococcidae) in fars province, iran. parasitized larvae of this predator were collected from nipaecoccus viridis (newstead) on citrus sinensis (l.) and reared in the laboratory. parasitoid wasps belonging to the family torymidae were consequently collected, and identified as pseudotorymu...

Little is known of the fate of viruses involved in long-term obligatory associations with eukaryotes. For example, many species of parasitoid wasps have symbiotic viruses to manipulate host defenses and to allow development of parasitoid larvae. The complete nucleotide sequence of the DNA enclosed in the virus particles injected by a parasitoid wasp revealed a complex organization, resembling a...

Multipartite nucleic acid-containing virus-like particles, known as polydnaviruses, are special structures produced by female parasitoid wasps to deliver wasp components into the body of their host at oviposition. The particles confer protection for the developing parasitoid by passive and active means. Although several genes expressed from the circular DNA of these particles have been identifi...

We report for the first time the parasitism of eggs of two triatomine Chagas disease vectors, Triatoma infestans and T. vitticeps, by the microhymenopterous parasitoid Aprostocetus asthenogmus. We also describe the first identification of this parasitoid in South America. A. asthenogmus were captured near unparasitized triatomine colonies in the municipality of Vitória, state of Espírito Santo,...

The functional response of the parasitoid Dinarmus basalis (Rond.) (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) is determined to evaluate its potential as a biological control agent. Four female wasps in the presence of males parasitoids, were allowed to oviposit during their life span or hosts at different densities. The data were fit by Rogers′ (1972) parasitoid model. The rate of parasitoid search was a′= 0....

the codling moth, cydia pomonella, is the most important pest insect in apple orchards. efficacy of a native strain of the egg parasitoid wasp, trichogramma embryophagum, was statistically compared with chemical control and check treatments in an apple orchard. the best times for releasing the parasitoid wasps were determined by using a forecasting model based on estimation of growing degree ho...