Improvements in the Rearing of the Tachinid ParasitoidExorista larvarum(Diptera: Tachinidae): Influence of Adult Food on Female Longevity and Reproduction Capacity

Abstract

Exorista larvarum (L.), a polyphagous gregarious larval parasitoid of lepidopterans, can be mass produced both in vivo, using the greater wax moth Galleria mellonella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) as a factitious host, and in vitro, on artificial media composed of crude components. The present study was focused on another aspect of E. larvarum rearing, namely the influence of adult food on parasitoid performance. The standard food, consisting of lump sucrose and cotton balls soaked in a honey and water solution (1), was compared with other foods or food combinations, namely lump sucrose alone (2), honey and water solution (3), sucrose and water solution either alone (4) or combined with bee-collected pollen (5), and, finally, pollen alone (6). All foods were provided together with distilled water supplied in drinking troughs. Based on the parameters considered (i.e., female longevity, number of eggs laid on host larvae, puparia obtained from eggs, and adults emerged from puparia), pollen alone was deemed to be the most suitable food for adult females of E. larvarum . In particular, the pollen showed a longevity-promoting effect, increasing the number of eggs laid on host larvae throughout the female lifespan. The use of this adult food may also result in a higher flexibility of the management of E. larvarum colonies because it can be replaced weekly, as no desiccation or mold infections were ever found to occur.

Effect of Tachinid Parasitoid Exorista japonica on the Larval Development and Pupation of the Host Silkworm Bombyx mori

“…The tachinid fly E. japonica was collected on its host, the M. separata in the field in Nanning, Guangxi, China. The rearing of E. japonica was followed by the method developed for the tachinid parasitoid Exorista larvarum (Diptera: Tachinidae) ( Dindo et al, 2019 ). Briefly, newly emerged adults were fed with 20% honey solution; after mating, each of the fly cages was loaded with 100 silkworm larvae on day 1 at the last (fifth) instar for receiving fly eggs.…”

“…Around 120 silkworms (sex ratio F/M = 1:1) on day 1 in the fifth instar stage were placed in the adult fly cages to receive fly eggs for 2 h. Due to 64% parasitoidism success in silkworms, silkworms received 2–3 fly eggs were selected and reared with mulberry leaves for further observation ( Zhao et al, 2020 ). The newly hatched tachinid larvae penetrated the host body and each formed a visible black-marked respiratory funnel on the silkworm integument ( Dindo et al, 2019 ). The number of silkworms with one and two funnels, the emerged tachinid puparia, and adults were recorded.…”

Monarda fistulosa hydrolate as antimicrobial agent in artificial media for the in vitro rearing of the tachinid parasitoid Exorista larvarum

“…The parasitoid adults were kept in plexiglass cages (40 × 30 × 30 cm) (50–70 adults per cage) at 26 ± 1 °C, 65 ± 5% r.h., and L16:D8 photoperiod. Adult food consisted of sugar cubes and pollen (Dindo et al, 2019). Distilled water was administered via drinking troughs with soaked cotton.…”

Effects of cold storage on life‐history traits ofAphidius matricariae

“…In agreement with previous studies (Jalali & Singh, 1992;Silva et al, 2013;Ismail et al, 2014), our results demonstrated that the fecundity of A. matricariae decreased after cold storage. In addition, the nutritional status of parasitoids during their adult stage can affect fecundity (Heimpel et al, 1997;Dindo et al, 2019).…”