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Mate choice and host discrimination behavior of the parasitoid Trichogramma chilonis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 May 2016

D. Wang ,
L. Lü ,
Y. He ,
Q. Shi ,
C. Tu  and
J. Gu
D. Wang
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Bio-Pesticide Innovation and Application of Guangdong Province, Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, Guangdong Province, China
L. Lü
Affiliation:
Plant Protection Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, Guangdong Province, China
Y. He*
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Bio-Pesticide Innovation and Application of Guangdong Province, Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, Guangdong Province, China
Q. Shi
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Bio-Pesticide Innovation and Application of Guangdong Province, Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, Guangdong Province, China
C. Tu
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Bio-Pesticide Innovation and Application of Guangdong Province, Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, Guangdong Province, China
J. Gu
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Bio-Pesticide Innovation and Application of Guangdong Province, Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, Guangdong Province, China
*
*Author for Correspondence Tel: +0086-020-85283985 E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Trichogramma chilonis Ishii (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) is an important natural enemy of many species of lepidopterous pests and a widely used biological control agent. Detailed knowledge about its mate choice and host discrimination behavior is lacking. In this study, we studied the mate choice and host discrimination behavior of T. chilonis in experimental arenas through video tracking. Males’ mate recognition capacity was realized by perceiving the sex pheromone of females. When offered two females of different species, male could distinguish the conspecific female from Trichogrammatoidea bactrae Nagaraja (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae), a species that has overlapping hosts with T. chilonis. When placed with two females of different mating status, male preferred mating with the virgin female to the mated female. T. chilonis females could distinguish unparasitized host eggs from parasitized ones (parasitized by conspecific females or heterospecific females). They preferred to stay on and lay eggs in unparasitized host eggs. When T. chilonis females were only provided with parasitized host eggs (parasitized by T. chilonis and T. bactrae females), conspecific superparasitism occurred more often than heterospecific superparasitism. Furthermore, the host egg discrimination ability of T. chilonis females was mainly achieved through antennal perception.

Keywords

Trichogramma chilonismate choicehost discriminationparasitoidbiological control
Type
Research Papers
Information
Bulletin of Entomological Research , Volume 106 , Issue 4 , August 2016 , pp. 530 - 537
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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