By means of an international project, Argentinian and Italian researchers are carrying out joint research to study biological and ecological aspects of Tuta absoluta biological control. This paper lists indigenous natural enemies reported for T. absoluta, as well as the current results on T. absoluta egg and larval parasitoids in both countries. Parasitoid species that conformed to different guilds are shown to coexist in cropping conditions, and some show positive characteristics as potential biocontrol agents against T. absoluta by means of augmentative releases. Future laboratory and field evaluations of the efficacy of biological control programmes in Argentina and Italy are proposed.
The tomato moth, Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), is a major pest in South America and is at present an important invasive species in the Mediterranean Basin. The larval stadium mines leaves, stems, and fruits, and chemical control is the most used control method in both its original range and the invaded distribution regions. Since current T. absoluta control strategies seem limited, biological control is a prominent tool to be applied abroad. The naturally occurring larval ectoparasitoid in Argentina and Chile Dineulophus phtorimaeae (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) has been reported to have potential biocontrol efficiency. In this study, the ovigeny strategy of D. phtorimaeae was analyzed throughout the adult female lifetime, and the functional response of females offered a range of 2–15 T. absoluta larvae was measured over a 48-hour period. Mean D. phtorimaeae egg load was 4.15 eggs, and egg production resulted in extremely synovigenic behavior. Meanwhile, a decreasing number of eggs, due to resorption, was found. Proportions of attacked (host-fed and/or parasitized) and only host-fed hosts by the ectoparasitoid were density independent for the tested host range, exhibiting a type I functional response to T. absoluta, with an attack rate of 0.20 host larvae. Meanings of this reproductive strategy in evolutionary time as well as the consequences for augmentative biological control programs are discussed.
Interspecific interactions between two larval parasitoids of Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) with partially overlapping host niches were studied: the idiobiont ectoparasitoid Dineulophus phthorimaeae De Santis, and the koinobiont endoparasitoid Pseudapanteles dignus (Muesebeck). T. absoluta is an important pest of tomato crops worldwide, and its management could be improved by understanding the competitive interactions and potential coexistence between these two parasitoids. Firstly, a 15-min fixed time laboratory test evaluated the host-searching ability of adult D. phthorimaeae and P. dignus wasps on T. absoluta larvae. Secondly, D. phthorimaeae host discrimination against endoparasitized and non-endoparasitized hosts by P. dignus, at different adult female ages, was experimentally examined. D. phthorimaeae wasps spent significantly more time in general searching in the presence of its competitor than in its absence, but, parasitism was only effective by P. dignus. Older D. phthorimaeae wasps discriminated significantly less than young wasps between T. absoluta larvae parasitized and unparasitized by P. dignus, and an interaction took place by non-concurrent host-feeding. Intra-guild predation of P. dignus larvae by D. phthorimaeae female feeding behaviour might have a minor effect in this system. Results are discussed in the context of literature supporting diverse evidence of coexistence in other parasitoid-host systems, with implications for T. absoluta biological control.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.