Bioecological characteristics of Bracon intercessor Nees (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) as a parasitoid of the poplar clearwing moth, Paranthrene tabaniformis (Rott.) (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae) in Bulgaria |
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| Authors: | G Georgiev |
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| Institution: | (1) Forest Research Institute, 132 St. Kliment Ohridski Boulevard, 1756 Sofia, Bulgaria |
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| Abstract: | The major bioecological characteristics of Bracon intercessor Nees (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a parasitoid of the poplar clearwing moth, Paranthrene tabaniformis (Rott.) (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae), were studied from 1987 to 2003. Poplar shoots infested with P. tabaniformis larvae were collected in 11 localities in Bulgaria and examined in the laboratory, and infestations were also studied in the field. B. intercessor was recorded in seven localities and was found to be a gregarious external larval parasitoid of P. tabaniformis. Two generations of the parasitoid developed on the host. The first (summer) generation was associated with early and mid-stage (up to third instar) host larvae, and the second (overwintering) generation with third- to fifth-instar larvae. The average number of parasitoid individuals feeding on a host was 4.5 and 12.4 in summer and overwintering generations, respectively. The maximum number recorded was 25 individuals per host in the overwintering generation. B. intercessor overwintered as a mature larva on the host and completed its development in early spring. The adults from the overwintering generation appeared in April, about 1 month prior to emergence of P. tabaniformis. The life cycle of B. intercessor was not in close synchrony with the development of P. tabaniformis in the spring, but the parasitoid adults which fed on honey-sugar solution lived for up to 31 days (males) and 86 days (females), respectively. This suggests that, in the field, B. intercessor females eclosing in the spring could survive until the host larvae appear if nectar is available. Adults of the summer generation emerge from July to September when sufficient suitable host larvae are available. B. intercessor was responsible for 1.5% of the average mortality of the P. tabaniformis overwintering larvae. The host mortality caused by the summer generation of the parasitoid ranged from 3.2% to 5.8%. |
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| Keywords: | Paranthrene tabaniformis Host Bracon intercessor Gregarious parasitoid Bulgaria |
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