Assessment of life history parameters ofAspidiotus nerii(Hemiptera: Diaspididae) to improve the mass rearing ofAphytis melinus(Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae)

Abstract

Assessment of life history parameters of Aspidiotus nerii (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) to improve 1 the mass rearing of Aphytis melinus (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) 2 Abstract 3The biological control of Aonidiella aurantii (Maskell) on citrus can be achieved with periodic 4 releases of the parasitoid Aphytis melinus DeBach. Aphytis melinus is normally reared on 5 parthenogenetic strains of the scale Aspidiotus nerii Bouché. The developmental rate, crawler 6 production, and survival of A. nerii were studied at two temperatures (25±1 and 30±1 ºC) and two 7 levels of relative humidity (55±5 and 85±5%) on squash. Temperature had an important effect on 8 developmental rate, but relative humidity did not. At 30 ºC, no growth was observed and no crawlers 9 were produced. At 25 ºC, development of the L1, L2, and young females stages required 24.4±0.7, 10 11.1±0.8, and 13.2±0.3 days, respectively. At 25 ºC, times until the appearance of mature females, 11 the start of crawler production, and the peak of crawler production were 48.7±0.1, 50.1±0.7, and 12 63.3±1.0 days, respectively. Crawler production lasted 42.6±1.9 days, and the 50% production level 13 was reached on day 13. Initially, crawler survival was higher at 30 ºC (65.9±2.8 %) than at 25 ºC 14 (51.7±4.8%), but by the end of development survival was much higher at 25 than 30 ºC (88.0±2.1% 15 vs 22.9±2.7%). Relative humidity had no effect on either initial or final survival. Average progeny 16 production was of 28.0±2.8 crawlers per female at 25 ºC. The relationship between the weight of 17 groups of crawlers and their number was: Number = 1,031 + 835,500*weight of group (g) (R 2 = 18 0.826), which can assist in colony management. The importance of selecting the correct strain of A. 19 nerii is emphasised. 20 21

Biology of an Adventive Population of the Armored Scale Rhizaspidiotus donacis, a Biological Control Agent of Arundo donax in California

“…However, voltinism of established field populations in Texas has not been systematically assessed. Development rates of Diaspididae are strongly influenced by thermal regime [ 58 ] and modest differences in environmental conditions often can determine whether an insect is univoltine or bivoltine [ 59 ]. The moderate difference in thermal regimes between sites in Texas (warmer) and California (cooler) is considered to be a primary reason for greater population growth of T. romana , the other biocontrol agent targeted at Ar.…”

Population features of biparental and uniparental forms of the oleander scale, Aspidiotus nerii Bouché, 1833 (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) on squash

“…Oleander scale is known as the best host for production of effective biologic control of pests against scale insects, it is appropriate for use in mass production of both predator and parasitoids in biological control of pests. For example, A. nerii is a suitable host for the production of Aphytis melinus DeBach, 1959 (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) for control of a major citrus pest, A. aurantii (Karaca & Uygun, 1993;Gonzalez-Zamora et al, 2012). The objective of our investigation was to determine the life table parameters of biparental and uniparental forms of the oleander scale reared on squash fruit.…”