Spatial and temporal dispersal patterns of Diachasmimorpha longicaudata (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) reared on Ceratitis capitata and Anastrepha fraterculus (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Abstract

The dispersal and parasitism abilities of Diachasmimorpha longicaudata, reared on the larval hosts Ceratitis capitata and Anastrepha fraterculus, were evaluated in a guava orchard. Eleven releases of approximately 3000 parasitoids were conducted in a 15-ha orchard and wasp dispersal was monitored from 6 to 272 m away from a central release point. At each monitoring point, larvae of C. capitata and A. fraterculus were offered as hosts for the parasitoids. In five releases, parasitoids were offered only one host species, and in six releases, they were given a choice. In total, 10,351 parasitoids were recovered from these hosts, all of which were D. longicaudata. Both parasitoid strains dispersed in all directions, but showed a slight bias towards the east. Both strains of the parasitoid survived and parasitized larvae of A. fraterculus and C. capitata for up to 15 days after release, with maximum activity during the first 7 days, but more individuals of the Anastrepha strain were recovered after 15 days. Although the highest rates of parasitism by both wasp strains occurred close to the release point, the Anastrepha strain parasitized more hosts at greater distances from the release point, whereas the Ceratitis strain parasitized more hosts close to release points. Releases of the Anastrepha strain of D. longicaudata are therefore recommended, as this strain yields high rates of parasitism further away from release points and appears to survive longer in the field.

Spatial and temporal dispersion of Doryctobracon areolatus (Szépligeti) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) in orchards infested with Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae)

“…Fewer obstacles (vegetation) in the release line may have favored the displacement of insects in this direction. A fact also observed by Camargos et al (2018) for D. longicaudata after release in guava.…”

“…However, Harbi et al (2015) observed that D. longicaudata released in citrus orchards was able to parasitize C. capitata larvae up to 75 m from the release point. In a guava orchard, D. longicaudata caused parasitism in A. fraterculus and C. capitata larvae located at a distance of 220 m from the release point (Camargos et al 2018). However, in the same study, the highest rate of parasitism (90% of larvae) of A. fraterculus was observed within a radius of up to 22.2 m from the release point, reducing dramatically as the distance increased.…”

A 30‐year systematic review reveals success in tephritid fruit fly biological control research

“…All augmentative studies with successful evidence were performed using parasitoids. These publications involved mass releases to control fruit fly species, including P. concolor against B. oleae in Turkey (Hepdurgun et al 2009) and California, USA (Yokoyama et al, 2008), D. longicaudata against A. suspensa (Sivinski et al, 1996) in Florida, USA, against A. ludens and A. obliqua in Mexico (Montoya et al, 2000(Montoya et al, , 2017, against C. capitata in Guatemala (Cancino et al, 2019), against C. capitata in Argentina (Sánchez et al, 2016), and against C. capitata and A. fraterculus in Brazil (Camargos et al, 2018).…”

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“…In Brazil, it was introduced in 1994 by "Embrapa Mandioca e Fruticultura" (Carvalho et al 1995) and is present in 10 states. Some studies on D. longicaudata, such as the olfactory response (Silva et al 2007), field dispersal, rates of parasitism and field survival when reared in two hosts (Camargos et al, 2016(Camargos et al, , 2018, and learning behavior of the female related to two essential oils (Zadra et al 2018) have been conducted in Brazil. D. longicaudata has recently been certified as a biological insecticide in Brazil, as it was published in the Federal Register, on September 3, 2018, edition 170, section 1, p. 127, based on Joint Normative Instruction nr.…”