Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T19:42:40.519Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Hymenopterous parasitoids of stem-boring Diptera (e.g. Oscinella frit (L.)) in perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) in Britain

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

D Moore
Affiliation:
The Grassland Research Institute, Hurley, Maidenhead, Berks., SL6 5LR, UK

Abstract

A study was made at Hurley in southern England of the hymenopterous parasitoids of the stem-boring larvae of Oscinella spp. and Geomyza tripunctata Fall, in perennial ryegrass plants {Lolium perenne) taken from swards managed in different ways. Six species of parasitoids were identified after their emergence from stem-borer pupae; four of these were also identified in the parasitoid larval form parasitising stem-borer larvae. Parasitism exceeded 45% during 1980 but was only about 20% in 1981. Of the species of Oscinella, larvae of O. frit (L.) were always the most highly parasitised and those of O. vastator (Curt.) the least, irrespective of their frequency of occurrence. G. tripunctata also showed less parasitism than O. frit. The braconid Chasmodon apterus (Nees) was responsible for 95 % of the parasitism in 1980 and 85% in 1981. The higher parasitism in 1980 probably resulted from greater synchrony between the populations of the adults of C. apterus and those of the stem-boring larvae. Samples from eight other sites in the UK gave results similar to those obtained from Hurley.

Type
Original Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1983

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bhattacharyya, A. (1957). A study in insect parasitism–the parasites of Oscinella frit with an account of their biology and inter-relations. — 190 pp. Ph.D. thesis, Univ. London.Google Scholar
Hendersono, & Clements, R. O. (1977). Grass growth in different parts of England in relation to invertebrate numbers and pesticide treatment. — J. Br. Grassld Soc. 32, 8998.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Howell, J. (1981). The biology and host relations of dipterous stem-borers of ryegrass. — 241 pp. Ph.D. thesis, Univ. Coll. Wales, Aberystwyth.Google Scholar
Idowu, O. L. (1975). Studies on the biology of dipterous stem-boring larvae in grasses. – 196 pp. Ph.D. thesis, Univ. London.Google Scholar
Imms, A. D. (1930). Observations on some parasites of Oscinella frit Linn. Part I. — Parasitology 22, 1136.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lazenby, A (1981). British grasslands; past, present and future. — Grass and Forage Science 36, 243266.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moore, D. (1982). Factors affecting dipterous stem-borer (e.g. Oscinella frit L.) infestations of ryegrass (Lolium spp.) with emphasis on the effects of nitrogen fertilization. — 227 pp. Ph.D. thesis, Univ. Reading.Google Scholar
Nordlander, G.(1978). Parasitoids of the frit fly, Oscinella frit (L.) on oats. — Norw. J. Ent. 25, 8990.Google Scholar
Nye, I. W. B.(1958). The external morphology of some of the dipterous larvae living in the Gramineae of Britain. — Trans. R. ent. Soc. Lond. 110, 411487.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simmonds, F. J. (1952). Parasites of the frit-fly, Oscinella frit (L.), in eastern North America. — Bull ent. Res. 43, 503542.CrossRefGoogle Scholar