Mass Rearing of Natural Enemies

Keyword(s):  
2020 ◽  
Vol 113 (6) ◽  
pp. 2619-2626
Author(s):  
Apostolos Pekas ◽  
Felix L Wäckers

Abstract Plants play a pivotal role in interactions involving herbivores and their natural enemies. Variation in plant primary and secondary metabolites not only affects herbivores but, directly and indirectly, also their natural enemies. Here, we used a commercial NPK fertilizer to test the impact of three fertilizer, namely 50, 100, and 200 ppm nitrogen, and one control (i.e., water) treatments, on the weight of the nymphs of the whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae). Subsequently, the whitefly parasitoid Eretmocerus mundus Mercet (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) was reared on the different groups of whitefly nymphs and upon parasitoid emergence, the number of oocytes was determined as a measure of reproductive capacity. Trials were done on tomato and tobacco plants. The level of nitrogen concentration in tobacco leaves was directly correlated with the fertilizer applications, thus confirming the effect of our fertilizer treatments. Both in tomato and tobacco plants, healthy as well as parasitized whitefly nymphs, were heaviest in the 200 ppm nitrogen treatment. The highest number of oocytes per female parasitoid was recorded in the 200 ppm nitrogen treatment in tomato (31% more oocytes as compared with the control) and in the 100 and 200 ppm nitrogen treatments in tobacco (200% more oocytes). We suggest that the increase in oocytes was the result of the enhanced size (food quantity) and/or nutritional quality of the whitefly host. The practical implications of these results for the mass rearing of whitefly parasitoids and for biological pest control are discussed.


1990 ◽  
Vol 80 (4) ◽  
pp. 417-425 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Löhr ◽  
A.M. Varela ◽  
B. Santos

AbstractAreas in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay were searched for the cassava mealybug, Phenacoccus manihoti Matile-Ferrero. The mealybug was located in the Paraguay River basin in the Santa Cruz de la Sierra area of eastern Bolivia, the Mato Grosso do Sul state in South-Western Brazil and in Paraguay east of the Paraguay River. Mealybug populations were extremely low in all areas but there was a period of increase from August to December. Eighteen species of natural enemies were found attacking P. manihoti: the most abundant and also most important were a solitary, internal parasitoid, Epidinocarsis lopezi (DeSantis) (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), Hyperaspis notata Mulsant and Diomus spp. (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), and Ocyptamus spp. (Diptera: Syrphidae). Collections of a closely related mealybug, Phenacoccus herreni Cox & Williams yielded two additional encyrtid parasitoids, Epidinocarsis diversicornis (Howard) and Aenasius sp. nr vexans Kerrich, but they did not survive on P. manihoti. Four parasitoids (E. lopezi, E. diversicornis, Parapyrus manihoti Noyes and Allotropa sp.) and four predators (H. notata, Diomus sp., Sympherobius maculipennis Kimmins, and Exochomus sp.) were sent for quarantine. With the exception of Parapyrus manihoti, all mentioned natural enemy species were forwarded to the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture at Ibadan, Nigeria for mass rearing and subsequent release.


2020 ◽  
Vol 50 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ítala Tainy Barreto Francisco dos Santos ◽  
Heloisa Safira Santos Pinheiro ◽  
Júlio César Melo Poderoso ◽  
Vancleber Batista dos Santos ◽  
Thiago Xavier Chagas ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT: In order to manipulate the mass rearing of natural enemies, temperature variations can be used. The effects are widely studied for their survival and developmental duration; however, there is little information about their reproductive system in the literature. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of different temperatures on the reproductive system of the predator Podisus nigrispinus (Dallas, 1851) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae). The predator was kept at temperature conditions of 17, 21, 25, and 29 °C until reaching 15 days of age, the adult stage. The insects were then killed, measured for both weight and size, dissected, and then evaluated for the following parameters: length of the most developed ovariole; number of ovarioles per ovary; number of oocytes per the more developed ovarioles; number of oocytes per P. nigrispinus female; and the total area of the testicles was measured in the male insects. Results showed that as the temperature increased, the parameters were positively affected. These temperature variations can be used to manipulate the mass rearing of P. nigrispinus under controlled conditions.


1993 ◽  
Vol 23 (10) ◽  
pp. 2023-2031 ◽  
Author(s):  
George P. Markin ◽  
Donald E. Gardner

Biological control traditionally depends upon importing the natural enemies of introduced weeds. Since vegetation management in forestry has primarily been aimed at protecting economic species of trees from competition from other native plants, biological control has been of little use in forestry. An alternative approach to controlling unwanted native plants, supplementing their existing complex of natural enemies with introduced insects found attacking closely related plants, is being used on rangeland, but is not recommended for forestry. New agents will not remain restricted to the location where they are released, but will spread and would eventually affect the target plant throughout its entire range, including areas where it might be desirable. A more promising alternative is manipulating one or more insects or diseases that already attack the undesirable plants. Many plant pathogens naturally associated with a particular plant species are highly virulent and specific to only the target plant. Mass producing these pathogens and applying them with conventional spray systems is being used in agriculture and is being considered for forestry. Other methods of manipulation, such as mass rearing insects and releasing them to attack the undesirable plant or manipulating populations of the insect predators that naturally suppress phytophagous insects of a target plant, are discussed.


1987 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 277-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yael Argov ◽  
Haggai Podoler ◽  
Oded Bar-Shalom ◽  
David Rosen

1987 ◽  
Vol 8 (4-5-6) ◽  
pp. 879-881 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Haug ◽  
H. R. Herren ◽  
D. J. Nadel ◽  
J. B. Akinwumi
Keyword(s):  

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 255-267
Author(s):  
Brígida Souza ◽  
Rosangela Cristina Marucci

Abstract Biological control is a worldwide trend and has been prominent as an effective and compatible strategy for use in Integrated Pest Management programs. In Brazil, the control of these organisms using biological agents has been used in several agricultural systems, including floriculture. This paper approaches biological control from the perspective of the interaction between organisms in nature, applied as a pest management strategy. Knowledge about the dependence and reciprocity among populations in a natural environment is fundamental to understanding that this control method is nothing more than an exploiting of a natural ecological service. Considering that, for the biological control of a pest we must increase the population density of natural enemies, we report on the two main ways to achieve this increase: conservative biological control and augmentative biological control. The first is done by modifying the environment’s vegetation structure to favor natural enemies’ maintenance or their attraction to the crops. The second is done by mass rearing entomophagous and entomopathogen species with attributes that can ensure their function as control agents when released in crops. Among such agents, we emphasize those produced and marketed in Brazil for application in ornamental plants. Finally, we report on the technologies most recently employed to increase the appropriate use and the efficiency of these biological control agents.


2008 ◽  
pp. 2301-2305
Author(s):  
George Hangay ◽  
Susan V. Gruner ◽  
F. W. Howard ◽  
John L. Capinera ◽  
Eugene J. Gerberg ◽  
...  
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