Biological control ofDiatraea saccharalis (F.) in Barbados byApanteles flavipes Cam. andLixophaga Diatraeae T. T.

Basic biology and small-scale rearing ofCelatoria compressa(Diptera: Tachinidae), a parasitoid ofDiabrotica virgifera virgifera(Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

“…Therefore tachinids have been involved in many operations of applied biological control worldwide (Grenier, 1988 for a review; Belshaw, 1994). Successes have been relatively rare but some of them have been spectacular (Greathead, 1986), for instance, Lixophaga diatraeae (Townsend) has been used against sugarcane borer, Diatraea saccharalis (Fabricius) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), in Barbados (Alam et al, 1971), Lixophaga sphenophori (Villeneuve) against sugarcane weevil, Rhabdoscelus obscurus (Boisduval) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in Hawaii (Rao et al, 1971), Argyrophylax basifulva (Bezzi) against coconut spike moth, Tirathaba rufivena Walker (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) in Fiji (O'Connor, 1950), and Cyzenis albicans (Fallén) against winter moth, Operophtera brumata (Linnaeus) (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) in Canada (Murdoch et al, 1985). However, several tachinid species considered as control agents have been rejected because of failure to achieve mating or rearing in captivity, such as Jaynesleskia jaynesei (Aldrich) and Miobiopsis diadema (Wiedemann), two potentially useful parasitoids of Diatraea species for the Caribbean (Cock, 1985), or Ocytata pallipes (Fallén) considered for control of the European earwig, Forficula auricularia Linnaeus (Dermaptera: Forficulidae), in Canada (Kuhlmann et al, 2002).…”

Suitability of new and old association hosts for the development of selected microgastrine parasitoids of gramineous stemborers

“…One example of successful biological control using the novel association approach is the introduction of C. flavipes against D. saccharalis. Cotesia flavipes has successfully colonized and suppressed D. saccharalis in Barbados (Alam et al, 1971;Simmonds, 1972Simmonds, , 1976, in Brazil (Macedo et al, 1984), and the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, USA (Fuchs, 1979). The success of C. flavipes in suppressing D. saccharalis population densities was attributed to the fact that D. saccharalis and Chilo partellus, the natural host of C. flavipes, are closely related and have nearly identical life histories (Wiedenmann & Smith, 1997).…”

Influence ofSaccharum officinarum(Poales: Poaceae) Variety on the Reproductive Behavior ofDiatraea flavipennella(Lepidoptera: Crambidae) and on the Attraction of the ParasitoidCotesia flavipes(Hymenoptera: Braconidae)

“…is ineffective because of its stem boring habit, various strategies, including manual removal of larvae, introduction of genetically modified sugarcane varieties, and application of biological control are commonly used in combination as part of an integrated program to manage D. saccharalis (Baker et al 1992;Arencibia et al 1997;Setamou et al 2002). In this regard, strains of Cotesia flavipes Cameron, 1891 (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) recovered from various species of stem borers that attack maize, sorghum, rice, sugarcane, and other crops have been successfully employed in the biological control of Proceras sacchariphagus (Betbeder-Matibet & Malinge 1967), Chilo partellus (Alam et al 1972;Overholt et al 1994) and D. saccharalis (Gifford & Mann 1967;Alam et al 1971;Fuchs et al 1979). Moreover, larvae of C. flavipes have been shown to be very efficient in minimizing the damage caused by Diatraea flavipennella (Freitas 2005).…”