Establishment in the Field ofCleruchoides noackae(Hymenoptera: Mymaridae), an Exotic Egg Parasitoid ofThaumastocoris peregrinus(Hemiptera: Thaumastocoridae)

Abstract

Efficient strategies to control the bronze bug Thaumastocoris peregrinus Carpintero and Dellapé (Hemiptera: Thaumastocoridae) are unavailable, but Cleruchoides noackae Lin and Huber (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae) parasitizes eggs of this pest. The parasitism and number of parasitoids that emerged from the eggs of T. peregrinus were evaluated in the laboratory and from eggs of this pest collected in the field in an area of approximately 2 ha. Collections were done 1 yr after the first release of C. noackae to check for field establishment of this parasitoid in eucalyptus plantations in Minas Gerais State, Brazil. The emergence of C. noackae was 53 and 52% from eggs parasitized in the laboratory and in the field, respectively. This natural enemy was recorded for all sampling points from the field collections, which were up to 10 km from the place it had been released. The C. noackae establishment in the field, and the potential for biological control of T. peregrinus by this parasitoid were confirmed.

Susceptibility of Thaumastocoris peregrinus (Hemiptera: Thaumastocoridae), a Eucalyptus pest, to entomopathogenic fungi

“…Biological control is the main approach to reduce damage by exotic insect pests in Eucalyptus (Wingfield et al, 2013). The egg parasitoid Cleruchoides noackae Lin and Huber (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae) is the only available biological control agent used against T. peregrinus (Barbosa et al, 2017).…”

Oviposition behaviour of mated or unmated Cleruchoides noackae (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae)

“…The emergence of one C. noackae adult per T. peregrinus egg is a common pattern for this species; however, this may vary with host volume, species and quality and may influence parasitoid size [63,64]. The emergence of only one C. noackae individual per T. peregrinus egg can be explained by the fact that eggs of this pest are 0.48 mm long [65] on average, while C. noackae are about 0.5 mm long (after emerging) [22]. Thus, there is only room for one per host egg.…”

“…Cleruchoides noackae can reproduce by arrhenotokous parthenogenesis, with fertilized eggs yielding females and unfertilized eggs yielding males [23]. In the laboratory and field, the sex ratio (female: male) of this parasitoid, when emerging from T. peregrinus eggs, was 0.76 and 0.65 respectively [6,22]. Cleruchoides noackae reared in the laboratory has a short longevity, 1.1 to 3.6 days without and with food, respectively [23,24].…”

“…Cleruchoides noackae is a solitary egg parasitoid, approximately 0.5 mm long [21], and it has an emergence rate higher than 60% from T. peregrinus eggs up to three days old and lower than 10% for those three to five days old [6]. The parasitism of T. peregrinus by C. noackae in the laboratory and the field is 50%-60% [22] and its release in eucalyptus plantations in Brazil has reduced infestation by this pest [3].…”

Estudios bionómicos y de dinámica poblacional para el manejo de Thaumastocoris peregrinus, especie invasora plaga de Eucalyptus spp. en Argentina

“…Hasta el momento, no existe un plan de manejo de la chinche del eucalipto en la Argentina. Al igual que en otros países de la región se está apostando al control biológico mediante la importación, liberación y posterior establecimiento de potenciales enemigos naturales, tales como el parasitoide oófago Chleruchoides noacke (Hymenoptera, Mymaridae) (Lin et al, 2007;Barbosa et al, 2017). Sin embargo, la introducción de un enemigo natural supuestamente adecuado a las condiciones ambientales del nuevo ecosistema, conlleva su cuarentena, multiplicación y liberación controlada.…”