Psyttalia lounsburyi (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), potential biological control agent for the olive fruit fly in California

Two new species of Psyttalia Walker (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Opiinae) reared from fruit-infesting tephritid (Diptera) hosts in Kenya

“…A few species, notably P. efoveolata, P. inquirenda, P. somereni, and P. walkeri, have been reared only from fruits, with the host fl y unknown (Silvestri 1913;Fischer 1972a, b, c). Th ree of the species, P. dacicida, P. lounsburyi, and P. ponerophaga, are parasitoids of olive fl y, B. oleae (Silvestri 1912(Silvestri , 1913(Silvestri , 1916bCopeland et al 2004;Sime et al 2007;Daane et al 2008), and have thus far been recorded only from this host. Psyttalia concolor is also a parasitoid of B. oleae and was originally described from specimens reared from olives.…”

“…Among the better-known species are Psyttalia concolor (Szépligeti), P. humilis (Silvestri), P. incisi (Silvestri), and P. fletcheri (Silvestri), all initially described in the genus Opius. Interest in the use of Psyttalia continues, with current efforts directed primarily against such notorious pests as Bactrocera cucurbitae (Coquillett), Bactrocera oleae (Rossi), and Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Mohamed et al 2003(Mohamed et al , 2007Vargas et al 2004;Billah et al 2005Billah et al , 2008aYokoyama et al 2005;Sime et al 2006Sime et al a, b, c, 2007Daane et al 2008). Recent work (KimaniNjogu et al 2001;Karam et al 2008;Rugman-Jones et al 2009) confirms earlier studies (e. g. Fischer 1958) suggesting that P. concolor represents a complex of morphologically similar but genetically distinct populations, at least some of which could be recognized as distinct species.…”

The Avoided Target: The Ceratitis capitata Cellular Encapsulation Response

“…Most wasps examined thus far, though, make use of suppressive tactics-toxins, or viruses/viruslike particles (VLPs) that target hemocytes, particularly lamellocytes, for inactivation or destruction. However, a discussion of this equally important other side to the host-parasitoid struggle is beyond the scope of this review [72][73][74][75][76].…”

Diachasmimorpha longicaudata as Biological Control agent of the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata: biotic and abiotic factors affecting its implementation in citrus crops of the Mediterranean basin

“…From all these works, it was Silvestri used against the olive fruit fly, B. oleae. For instance, it has been concluded that higher temperatures impact negatively on parasitoid establishment by either killing developing larva or foraging adults (Sime et al 2006a;Daane et al 2008). Similarly, lower temperatures also contribute to establishment failure, as explained with P. concolor in Europe (Wang et al 2011).…”

“…In the same context, P. lounsburyi and P. humilis were evaluated in California for their potential to control the invasive olive fruit fly, B. oleae and it was demonstrated that adult parasitoid survival was low during summer because of the high prevailing temperatures (Wang et al 2011) causing high mortality of Psyttalia sp. as in different developmental stages (Daane et al 2008;Sime et al 2006a;Yokoyama et al 2010). As a matter of fact, temperature can lead BC programs to failure like the case of P. concolor which failed to establish in southern Europe Loni 1994 in Wang et al 2011).…”