Studies on the Biological Control of the Fall Webworm, Hyphantria cunea, in Louisiana

1964 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 314-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. D. Oliver
2008 ◽  
Vol 98 (3) ◽  
pp. 293-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z.Q. Yang ◽  
X.Y. Wang ◽  
J.R. Wei ◽  
H.R. Qu ◽  
X.R. Qiao

AbstractThe fall webworm, Hyphantria cunea (Drury) (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae), is an invasive and important pest in China. Investigations on insect natural enemies have been conducted from 1996 to 1999 in five provinces and one municipality of China in order to select effective species for biological control. Two carabid predators (Coleoptera) and 25 parasitoid species were found, among which 23 were parasitic wasps (Hymenoptera), including five hyperparasitic species and two tachinid flies (Diptera). The two carabids preyed on young larvae inside webs, two braconid wasps parasitized larvae, and 18 parasitoid species attacked the fall webworm during the pupal and/or ‘larval-pupal’ stages. Among these parasitoids, there were one genus and nine species that are new to science and four species new to China, which were described and published by the senior author Yang. The average parasitism rates of fall webworm pupae were 25.8% and 16.1% in the overwintering generation and the first generation (summer generation), respectively. These findings reveal that these natural enemies play an important role in the natural control of the pest. Chouioia cunea Yang (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), a gregarious pupal endo-parasitoid, was recommended as a promising biological control agent against the fall webworm in China.


1962 ◽  
Vol 94 (12) ◽  
pp. 1250-1270 ◽  
Author(s):  
Howard A. Tripp

For many years, the specific name, hyalinus, has been used to designate certain Perilampus adults reared from a variety of insects belonging to the orders Lepidoptera, Orthoptera, Hymenoptera, and Diptera. Normally, taxonomists hesitate to classify parasites from such a wide range of hosts under one specific name; but in this case their fears were allayed by the concept that most Perilampus species were strictly hyperparasitic and hence probably preyed upon a narrower range of hosts than indicated by rearing records. The hyperparasitic nature of Perilampus hyalinus Say was established in 1912 by Smith who recovered its immature stages from various primary parasites of the fall webworm, Hyphantria cunea Drury. Smith gave an account of the behaviour of the first-instar planidial stage and came to the conclusion that the species could not develop as a primary parasite of the fall webwom. A hyperparasitic behaviour was demonstrated also for P. tristis Mayr on various primary parasites of the European pine shoot moth, Rhyacionia buoliana (Schiff.) (Bergold and Ripper, 1937). Primary parasitism was shown for P. chrysopa spp. (Clancy, 1946), and for P. italicus F. on the tenthredinid, Athalia colibri Christ. (Martelli, 1932). Nevertheless, the concept of hyperparasitism became generally accepted for most of the genus and discouraged attempts to utilize members of this genus for purposes of biological control of injurious defoliating insects.


Author(s):  
Lvquan Zhao ◽  
Wei Wang ◽  
Ying Qiu ◽  
Alex S. Torson

Abstract The accumulation of nutrients during diapause preparation is crucial because any lack of nutrition will reduce the likelihood of insects completing diapause, thereby decreasing their chances of survival and reproduction. The fall webworm, Hyphantria cunea, diapause as overwintering pupae and their diapause incidence and diapause intensity are regulated by the photoperiod. In this study, we test the hypothesis that photoperiod influences energy reserve accumulation during diapause preparation in fall webworm. We found that the body size and mass, lipid and carbohydrate content of pupae with a short photoperiod during the diapause induction phase were significantly greater than those of pupae with a relatively short photoperiod, and the efficiency of converting digested food and ingested food into body matter was greater in the short-photoperiod diapause-destined larvae than the relatively short-photoperiod diapause-destined larvae. We also observed higher lipase and amylase activities in short-photoperiod diapause-destined larvae relative to the counterparts. However, no obvious difference was found in protein and protease in the pupae with a short photoperiod during the diapause induction phase and short-photoperiod diapause-destined larvae compared with the counterparts. Therefore, we conclude that the energy reserve patterns of diapausing fall webworm pupae are plastic and that short-photoperiod diapause-destined larvae increase their energy reserves by improving their feeding efficiency and increase their lipid and carbohydrate stores by increasing the lipase and amylase activities in the midgut.


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