Toxicity of cockroach gel baits to the oothecal parasitoid Aprostocetus hagenowii (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) and implications for cockroach integrated pest management.

Aprostocetus hagenowii (Ratzeburg) is a parasitoid wasp that parasitizes the oothecae of peridomestic pest cockroaches. A. hagenowii has been used in integrated pest management (IPM) programs for cockroach control but little is known about how this parasitoid responds to the insecticides commonly used for cockroach management. Five insecticidal gel bait products containing indoxacarb, clothianidin, fipronil, dinotefuran, or abamectin B1 were tested for their toxicity towards A. hagenowii and the American cockroach, Periplaneta americana (L.; Blattodea: Blattidae), a host of A. hagenowii and a common pest. All baits were tested as fresh and 1-d aged deposits. Indoxacarb was the only active ingredient that did not cause significant (P < 0.05) A. hagenowii mortality compared to the control in both the fresh and aged gel experiments (Median survival time [MST]s: 168 h fresh, 72 h aged). Clothianidin caused the lowest A. hagenowii MSTs across experiments (24 h, fresh and aged). All baits caused significant P. americana mortality as fresh and 1-d aged deposits (P < 0.05). Indoxacarb appears most compatible with A. hagenowii in cockroach IPM.

Behavioural changes in the city: The common black garden ant defends aphids more aggressively in urban environments.

Urbanisation alters biodiversity patterns and threatens to disrupt mutualistic interactions. Aside from pollination, however, little is known about how mutualisms change in cities. Our study aimed to assess how urbanisation affects the protective mutualism between ants and aphids, investigating potential behavioural changes in mutualistic ants and their implications for aphids in urban environments. To do so, we studied the protective mutualism between the pink tansy aphid (Metopeurum fuscoviride) and the black garden ant (Lasius niger) along an urbanisation gradient in Berlin, Germany. In nine locations along this gradient, we measured aphid colony dynamics and proxies for parasitism, quantified the investment of ants in tending aphids and conducted behavioural assays to test the aggressiveness of ant responses to a simulated attack on the aphids. We found that aphid colonies flourished and were equally tended by ants across the urbanisation gradient, with a consistent positive density dependence between aphid and ant numbers. However, ants from more urbanised sites responded more aggressively to the simulated attack. Our findings suggest that this protective mutualism is not only maintained in the city, but that ants might even rely more on it and defend it more aggressively, as other food resources may become scarce and more unpredictable with urbanisation. We thereby provide unique insights into this type of mutualism in the city, further diversifying the growing body of work on mutualisms across urbanisation gradients.

First Record of Telenomus dilophonotae (Hymenoptera, Scelionidae), Parasitizing Eggs of Erinnyis ello (Lepidoptera, Sphingidae) in Western Paraná, Brazil, with Molecular Characterization and Records of Occurrences.

There are few records for Telenomus dilophonotae Cameron, 1913 (Hymenoptera, Scelionidae) from South America. In Brazil, the first occurrence was reported in Bahia in rubber crops, Hevea brasiliensis (Willd. ex Adr. de Juss.) Muell. - Arg., there parasitizing eggs of Erinnyis ello Linnaeus, 1758 (Lepidoptera, Sphingidae). It was also found parasitizing the same host in cassava, Manihot esculenta Crantz (Euphorbiaceae). This is the first record of occurrence of T. dilophonotae in the state of Paraná, parasitizing eggs of E. ello in areas of cassava production in the western region of Paraná, this being the southernmost record of the species. Here, photographs, the first sequence of DNA barcode of this species of parasitoid wasp, and a distribution map are provided.

Pest management facing warming and chemical stresses: Multi-stress effects on the biological agent Trichogramma oleae.

Global change is affecting plant-insect interactions in agroecosystems and can have dramatic consequences on yields when causing non-targeted pest outbreaks and threatening the use of pest natural enemies for biocontrol. The vineyard agroecosystem is an interesting system to study multi-stress conditions: on the one hand, agricultural intensification comes with high inputs of copper-based fungicides and, on the other hand, temperatures are rising due to climate change. We investigated interactive and bottom-up effects of both temperature increase and copper-based fungicides exposure on the important Lepidopteran vineyard pest Lobesia botrana and its natural enemy, the oophagous parasitoid Trichogramma oleae. We exposed L. botrana larvae to three increasing copper sulfate concentrations under two fluctuating thermal regimes, one current and one future. Eggs produced by L. botrana were then exposed to T. oleae. Our results showed that the survival of L. botrana, was only reduced by the highest copper sulfate concentration and improved under the warmer regime. The development time of L. botrana was strongly reduced by the warmer regime but increased with increasing copper sulfate concentrations, whereas pupal mass was reduced by both thermal regime and copper sulfate. T. oleae F1 emergence rate was reduced and their development time increased by combined effects of the warmer regime and increasing copper sulfate concentrations. Size, longevity and fecundity of T. oleae F1 decreased with high copper sulfate concentrations. These effects on the moth pest and its natural enemy are probably the result of trade-offs between the survival and the development of L. botrana facing multi-stress conditions and implicate potential consequences for future biological pest control. Our study supplies valuable data on how the interaction between pests and biological control agents is affected by multi-stress conditions.

Review of the genus Paradelius De Saeger, 1942 of East Asia (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Cheloninae, Adeliini) with the description of a new species from South Korea.

The East Palaearctic species of the adeliine genus Paradelius De Saeger, 1942 are reviewed. The genus Sculptomyriola Belokobylskij, 1988 is synonymised with Paradelius and treated as its subgenus. The following species are transferred to subgenus Paradelius (Sculptomyriola): P. (Sc.) extremiorientalis (Belokobylskij, 1988), comb. nov.; P. (Sc.) ghilarovi (Belokobylskij, 1988), comb. nov.; P. (Sc.) neotropicalis Shimbori & Shaw, 2019; P. (Sc.) nigrus Whitfield, 1988; P. (Sc.) rubrus Whitfield, 1988; P. (Sc.) sinevi (Belokobylskij, 1998), comb. nov. A new species Paradelius (Sculptomyriola) koreanussp. nov. from Korean Peninsula is described. The genus Sinadelius He & Chen, 2000 is synonymised with Paradelius De Saeger and also treated as its subgenus. The species Sinadeliusguangxiensis He & Chen, 2000 and S.nigricans He & Chen, 2000 are transferred to Paradelius (Sinadelius) (comb. nov.). A key for determination of the World known Paradelius species from three its subgenera, Paradelius s.str., Sculptomyriola Belokobylskij and Sinadelius He & Chen, and illustrated redescriptions of the type of genus and its Asian species are provided.

Impact of pesticides on non-target invertebrates in agricultural ecosystems.

In fact, less than 1% of applied pesticides reach their target pests, while the remainder pollute the neighboring environment and adversely impact human health as well as non-target organisms in agricultural ecosystem. Pesticides can contribute to the loss of agrobiodiversity, which are essential to maintaining the agro-ecosystem's structure and functioning in order to produce and secure enough food. This review article examines the negative effects of pesticides on non-target invertebrates including earthworms, honeybees, predators, and parasitoids. It also highlights areas where further research is needed to address unresolved issues related to pesticide exposure, aiming to improve conservation efforts for these crucial species. These organisms play crucial roles in ecosystem functioning, such as soil health, pollination, and pest control. Both lethal and sub-lethal effects of pesticides on the selected non-target invertebrates were discussed. Pesticides affect DNA integrity, enzyme activity, growth, behavior, and reproduction of earthworms even at low concentrations. Pesticides could also induce a reduction in individual survival, disruption in learning performance and memory, as well as a change in the foraging behavior of honeybees. Additionally, pesticides adversely affect population growth indices, reproduction, development, longevity, and consumption of predators and parasitoids. As a result, pesticides must pass adequate ecotoxicological risk assessment to be enlisted by regulatory authorities. Therefore, it is important to adopt integrated pest management (IPM) strategies that minimize pesticide use and promote the conservation of beneficial organisms in order to maintain agrobiodiversity and sustainable agricultural systems. Furthermore, adopting precision agriculture and organic farming lessen these negative effects as well.less than.

Natural Enemies of the fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda Smith) and comparing Neem aqueous extracts with its larvae, Gurage zone, central Ethiopia.

The fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda Smith) is an invasive and polyphagous insect pest. It poses a significant threat to maize crops, uncontrolled infestation can result 100 % loss. However, natural enemies play a vital role in regulating the population of this pest. Additionally, botanical sources extracts have the potential to be effective insecticides. The objectives of the study were to investigate the natural enemies of S. frugiperda in the Gurage zone and to compare efficacy of Neem seed and leaf aqueous extracts with S. frugiperda larvae, central Ethiopia. S. frugiperda larvae and egg masses, cocoons and larvae cadavers collected from infested maze farms. From each round collection 25 healthy and inactive larvae were sampled to rear until emerging adults. Observed predator species recorded. Neem seed and leaf aqueous extracts was tested against S. frugiperda in laboratory condition. The study found a diverse range of natural enemies associated with S. frugiperda, including parasitoids, predators, and entomopathogenic fungi. Three species of parasitoids (Exorista xanthaspis, Tachina spp., and Charops annulipes) were documented in Ethiopia for the first time. Predatory insects belonging to four distinct orders: Hemiptera, Dermaptera, Coleoptera, and Mantodea also identified. In particular, various Hemipterans were observed in the maize farms infested with S. frugiperda. In terms of Neem seed and leaf aqueous extracts, they demonstrated similar mortality rates for S. frugiperda larvae after 72 h, although differences were observed at 24 and 48 h. For effective management of S. frugiperda, more research is needed to fully exploit the potential of natural enemies and botanical source insecticides.

From a local descriptive to a generic predictive model of cereal aphid regulation by predators.

The temporal dynamics of insect populations in agroecosystems are influenced by numerous biotic and abiotic interactions, including trophic interactions in complex food webs. Predicting the regulation of herbivorous insect pests by arthropod predators and parasitoids would allow for rendering crop production less dependent on chemical pesticides. Curtsdotter et al. (2019) developed a food-web model simulating the influences of naturally occurring arthropod predators on aphid population dynamics in cereal crop fields. The use of an allometric hypothesis based on the relative body masses of the prey and various predator guilds reduced the number of estimated parameters to just five, albeit field-specific. Here, we extend this model and test its applicability and predictive capacity. We first parameterized the original model with a dataset with the dynamic arthropod community compositions in 54 fields in six regions in France. We then integrated three additional biological functions to the model: parasitism, aphid carrying capacity and suboptimal high temperatures that reduce aphid growth rates. We developed a multi-field calibration approach to estimate a single set of generic allometric parameters for a given group of fields, which would increase model generality needed for predictions. The original and revised models, when using field-specific parameterization, achieved quantitatively good fits to observed aphid population dynamics for 59% and 53% of the fields, respectively, with pseudo-R2 up to 0.99. But the multi-field calibration showed that increased model generality came at the cost of reduced model reliability (goodness-of-fit). Our study highlights the need to further improve our understanding of how body size and other traits affect trophic interactions in food webs. It also points up the need to acquire high-resolution data to use this type of modelling approach. We propose that a hypothesis-driven strategy of model improvement based on the integration of additional biological functions and additional functional traits beyond body size (e.g., predator space search or prey defences) into the food-web matrix can improve model reliability.

Historical Note on the Genus Trichogramma (Hymenoptera, Trichogrammatidae) in Brazil, Focusing on Taxonomy and Diversity.

The history of the taxonomy of Trichogramma parasitoid wasps can be divided into two phases. In the first phase, species identifications were based on external morphological characters; however, these identifications proved to be confusing and inaccurate. In the second phase, starting in the 1970s, taxa were identified based on charcteristics of the male genital capsule , leading to a major advance in Trichogramma taxonomy. The history of Trichogramma taxonomy in Brazil is recent and mainly related to species that parasitize agricultural pests. In Brazil, the first phase of Trichogramma taxonomy occurred in the 1960s, while the second phase occurred from the 1980s onward. In this second phase, Trichogramma taxonomy progressed significantly and knowledge of Trichogramma diversity as well as associations with lepidopteran pests improved markedly in Brazil as well as worldwide. The last five decades have seen significant progress in studies in Brazil, with taxonomy evolving from identifications based exclusively on morphological characters to integrative taxonomy, encompassing biology (crosses) and morphometry. This historical outline presents the phases of Trichogramma taxonomy in Brazil, addressing the hurdles encountered in the first descriptions, erroneous records of the species, and species descriptions since the 1980s. We highlight the importance of accurately identifying Trichogramma taxa for their use in biological control, as well as species diversity and associations with lepidopteran hosts.

Mango headspace volatiles trigger differential responses of the mango fruit fly Ceratitis cosyra and its parasitoids.

Before the introduction of Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) to sub-Saharan Africa, Ceratitis cosyra (Walker) was economically the most important pest in mango farming. Its native natural enemy, the solitary parasitoid Psyttalia cosyrae (Wilkinson), played a crucial role in C. cosyra bio-control, later complemented by the exotic parasitoids Diachasmimorpha longicaudata (Ashmead) and Fopius arisanus (Sonan) among Integrated Pest Management (IPM) systems. To understand the in situ mango-C. cosyra-parasitoid tritrophic interaction, we assessed the responses of the fruit fly and the three parasitoids to headspace volatiles from various mango conditions. These conditions included non-infested mature unripe mangoes, C. cosyra-infested mangoes, 7th- and 9th-day post-infestation mangoes, non-infested ripe mangoes of three varieties (Kent, Apple, and Haden), and clean air (blank). We also compared the fruit fly's performance in the mango varieties and identified the chemical profiles of mango headspace volatiles. Ceratitis cosyra was attracted to both infested and non-infested mangoes (66-84 % of responsive C. cosyra) and showed superior performance in Kent mango (72.1 % of the 287 puparia recovered) compared to Apple and Haden varieties. Fopius arisanus displayed a stronger attraction to the volatiles of C. cosyra-infested mangoes (68-70 %), while P. cosyrae and D. longicaudata were significantly attracted to the 9th-day post-infestation mangoes (68-78 %) compared to non-infested mango volatiles. Gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy showed substantial quantitative and qualitative differences in volatile profiles among mango treatments. Esters predominated in non-infested ripe, 7th- and 9th-day post-infestation mangoes, while monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes were most dominant in the other treatments. The in situ experiments underscored varying preferences of the species for mango headspace volatiles and their subsequent treatments. These results provide valuable insights for further exploration, specifically in identifying the key volatiles responsible for species responses, to facilitate the development of applicable selective semiochemicals for managing species of African fruit fly.

A taxonomic study of Cheiloneurus Westwood (Hymenoptera, Encyrtidae) from China.

Fourteen species of Cheiloneurus from China are studied. Cheiloneurusguangxiensis Zu, sp. nov., is described as new to science, and C.boldyrevi Trjapitzin & Agekyan, 1978, C.bouceki Anis & Hayat, 2002, C.gonatopodis Perkins, 1906, and C.hadrodorys Anis & Hayat, 2002 are newly recorded from China. A key to Chinese species based on females is also presented.

Impact of Chemical Insecticide Application on Beneficial Insects in Maize.

The European corn borer (ECB) (Ostrinia nubilalis Hübner) and to a lesser extent the western corn rootworm (Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte) are a threat to maize in the Po Valley (Northern Italy), and their control can require insecticide applications. The results of a study to evaluate the effects of insecticide sprays on the beneficial insect Trichogramma brassicae (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) and aphid predators are reported. A three-year research project was carried out in two Study Areas, in Lombardy. In area 1, crop rotation was a common practice, while in area 2 repeated maize crop was practiced. The natural trend of ECB egg masses attacked by T. brassicae was affected and parasitism rates were reduced as a result of insecticide exposure (chlorpyriphos methyl, cypermethrin, alphacypermethrine). Repeated maize crop and insecticides spraying increased the abundance of the aphid population and negatively affected the aphid predator community, which mainly included ladybirds, hoverflies, true bugs and lacewings. The predator community was dominated by hoverflies in sprayed fields managed according to repeated maize crop protocols, whereas ladybirds and Orius spp. dominated in maize fields managed according to crop rotation protocols. Crop rotation protocols help to prevent ECB outbreaks; when the risk of exceeding the economic threshold limit is high, and this may be the case when maize is cultivated for seeds or for horticultural crops such as sweet corn, inundative release of T. brassicae and/or microbial control (i.e., use of Bacillus thuringiensis preparations) can integrate natural biocontrol, and provide a valuable alternative to chemical insecticides.

First record of Apanteles hemara (N.) on Leucinodes orbonalis Guenée and biodiversity of Hymenoptera parasitoids on Brinjal.

The brinjal fruit and shoot borer (BFSB), Leucinodes orbonalis Guenée (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), is a very detrimental pest that causes significant economic losses to brinjal crop worldwide. Infested brinjal fruits were collected from vegetable fields located at the ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute (ICAR-IARI), New Delhi, India, during two consecutive seasons (2021-2022). The larvae of the pest were brought to the laboratory and reared under controlled conditions of 25 ± 0.5 °C and 70 ± 5% relative humidity, for the emergence of parasitoids. In addition, the survey of Hymenoptera parasitoids in brinjal was conducted utilizing a sweep net and yellow pan trap over the course of two seasons. The results reveal that five parasitoid species were emerged from L. orbonalis viz., Apanteles hemara Nixon, 1965, Bracon greeni Ashmead 1896 (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), Goryphus nursei (Cameron, 1907), Trathala flavoorbitalis (Cameron, 1907) (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) and Spalangia gemina Boucek 1963 (Hymenoptera: Spalangiidae). Out of these, A. hemara and S. gemina were documented as new occurrences in Delhi. Additionally, A. hemara was recorded for the first time as a parasite on L. orbonalis. Trathala flavoorbitalis was observed during both seasons and exhibited higher parasitism reaching 15.55% and 18.46% in July and August 2022, respectively. However, the average parasitism (%) recorded by A. hemara, B. greeni, G. nursei, T. flavoorbitalis and S. gemina was 3.10%, 1.76%, 1.10%, 9.28% and 1.20% respectively. Furthermore, the findings showed a significant (p ≤ 0.01) strongly positive correlation between fruit infestation (%) by L. orbonalis and parasitism (%). The survey indicates the presence of a broad group (19 families and 60 species) of Hymenoptera parasitoids in the brinjal crop ecosystem in Delhi which could be valuable in biological control. In light of these results, this study revealed that A. hemara and other parasitoids identified in this study alongside T. flavoorbitalis would be ideal biocontrol agents within the integrated pest management (IPM) program of BFSB in Delhi.

New records of three parasitoids, Pteroptrix chinensis, Aphytis hispanicus, and Marlattiella prima (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) associated with an exotic scale, Lopholeucaspis japonica (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) in Tennessee.

A survey for parasitoids of Lopholeucaspis japonica Cockerell (Hemiptera: Diaspididae), an exotic scale of woody ornamentals, resulted in the discovery of 3 species of aphelinid parasitoid wasps, Pteroptrix chinensis (Howard), Aphytis hispanicus (Mercet), and Marlattiella prima Howard. This serves as the first report of these parasitoids reared from a host in the state of Tennessee, USA. Despite routine pesticide applications in the surveyed nursery and directed treatments of the infested plants to control the scale outbreak, the percentage of parasitized scale in privet and euonymus shrubs averaged 7.0% and 7.9%, respectively. These parasitoids may be useful in the natural or managed control of this pest in the United States, but additional research is needed to understand how these parasitoids contribute to the control of L. japonica in the landscape and how nursery production practices can be modified to promote parasitoid populations.

Aphidius colemani Behavior Changes Depending on Volatile Organic Compounds Emitted by Plants Infected with Viruses with Different Modes of Transmission.

Natural enemies are an additional component that may interact directly with the plant-virus-vector association, affecting viral dispersion. In our study, we conducted olfactometry assays to explore how single and mixed infections with CMV or/and CABYV modify the attractiveness of A. colemani to aphid-free and aphid-infested melon plants using two melon genotypes. Subsequently, we investigated the influence of CABYV-infected plants infested by A. gossypii on the parasitism rate and emergence of A. colemani in a dual-choice assay under greenhouse conditions. Our study demonstrates that males showed no preference for either infected or non-infected plants. Female parasitoids exhibit a preference for volatiles emitted by CMV and mixed-infected melon plants over clean air but not over mock-inoculated plants, suggesting a response influenced by plant genotype. Female parasitoid responses to CABYV and its interactions with aphids revealed a preference for mock-inoculated plants over CABYV-infected plants and a parasitism rate slightly higher (7.12%) on non-infected plants. Our study revealed that (1) parasitoids may reject olfactory cues from CABYV-infected plants, potentially interfering with the plant's "cry for help" response; (2) in the case of CMV, whether in single or mixed infections, non-infected plants are as attractive as infected ones to parasitoids. Our findings suggest that persistent viruses manipulate aphid parasitoid behavior to their advantage, promoting virus disease in melon crops.

Lifecycle of Dryocosmus kuriphilus Yasumatsu and Diversity and Importance of the Native Parasitoid Community Recruited in the Northern Region of Portugal.

In this work, the objective was to learn the life cycle of D. kuriphilus and the diversity of native parasitoids in the northern region of Portugal between 2017 and 2019. The places studied belonged to the regions of Entre-Douro-e-Minho, Beira Interior, and Trás-os-Montes. To achieve the proposed objectives, buds were collected for egg and larva observation, galls were collected for larva, pupa, and adult observation and monitoring, and emergency boxes were used to identify the fauna present in the galls. In this study, 92% of D. kuriphilus adults emerged between June and July, with emergences occurring until September. We also obtained adults in winter, so it is important to study, in future works, the hypothesis of this pest performing diapause. Regarding the study of native parasitoids, compared to other countries, the same families emerged, with good rates of natural parasitism, although with fluctuations over the years. In the three municipalities under study, 11 species were identified (Eupelmus azureus Ratzeburg, Eupelmus urozonus Dalman, Eurytoma brunniventris Ratzeburg, Megastigmus dorsalis (Fabricius), Ormyrus pomaceus (Geoffroy), Sycophila iracemae Nieves Aldrey, Sycophila variegata (Curtis), Sycophila biguttata (Swederus), Torymus flavipes (Walker), Torymus auratus (Mueller), and Torymus notatus (Walker)). The average parasitism rates varied between 1.92% and 10.68%.

Field Control Effect of Telenomus remus Nixon and Trichogramma chilonis Ishii Compound Parasitoid Balls against Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith).

Although the release of egg parasitoids has proven to be an effective strategy for the control of the fall armyworm (FAW), a single egg parasitoid, however, has exposed some deficiencies in practice, and it is worthwhile to explore whether the combination of multiple parasitoid species released can be used to control FAW by adopting an inter- or intra-specific relationship. In this study, we released compound parasitoid balls of Te. remus and Tr. chilonis in maize fields to explore the effects of combinations in different proportions of these two egg parasitoids on the control of the FAW. The results showed that the release of compound parasitoid balls improved the control effect on the FAW compared to the release of only Te. Remus (100%) and only Tr. Chilonis (100%). The treatments released with compound parasitoid balls significantly increased the egg parasitism rate against the FAW, reduced its populations, and alleviated its damage to maize as compared to the treatment with only Tr. chilonis (100%) released, whereas there was no significant difference in the egg parasitism rate and FAW populations between the treatments with the release of only Te. remus (100%) and that of compound parasitoid balls. Among the compound parasitoid balls with different proportions of egg parasitoids, the treatment with 80% Te. remus and 20% Tr. chilonis and that with 20% Te. remus and 80% Tr. chilonis could still retain more than 50% of the control effect against the FAW after 15 days of release and given the higher cost of production of Te. Remus, our results suggested that the combination of 20% Te. Remus and 80% Tr. Chilonis is a more cost-efficient ratio for the control of the FAW. Our findings may provide a new perspective for the sustainable control of the FAW.

Parasitoid cues modulate Drosophila germline development and stem cell proliferation.

Environmental factors influence an organism's reproductive ability by regulating germline development and physiology. While the reproductive adaptations in response to extrinsic stress cues offer fitness and survival advantages to individuals, the mechanistic understanding of these modifications remains unclear. Here, we find that parasitoid wasps' stress signaling regulates Drosophila melanogaster oogenesis. We show that fruit flies dwelling in the wasp-infested area elevate their fecundity, and the observed reproductive response is specific to Pachycrepoideus sp., a pupal parasitoid wasp. Pachycrepoideus-specific olfactory and visual cues recruit the signaling pathways that promote germline stem cell proliferation and accelerate follicle development, increasing egg production in Drosophila females. Downregulation of signaling engaged in oocyte development by shifting flies to a non-wasp-infested environment increases apoptosis of the developing follicles. Thus, this study establishes host germline responsiveness to parasitoid-specific signals and supports a predator strategy to increase hosts for infection.

Survey on Drosophila suzukii and Ceratitis capitata (Diptera: Drosophilidae, Tephritidae) and Associated Eucoilinae Species (Hymenoptera: Figitidae) in Northwestern Argentina. First Record of Dicerataspis grenadensis and Leptopilina boulardi as Parasitoids of D. suzukii.

The Southeast Asian-native Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) (Diptera: Drosophilidae), also known as "spotted-wing Drosophila," is one of the most globally invasive agricultural species. Although D. suzukii is a pest spread throughout all the Argentinian fruit-growing regions, few information has been published on its impact on local fruit production. Parasitoid species associated with D. suzukii in Argentina belong to Pteromalidae (Chalcidoidea), Diapriidae (Diaprioidea), both attacking host pupae, and Figitidae (Cynipoidea), which attack host larvae. Nine Eucoilinae (Figitidae) species, belonging to Dicerataspis, Dieucoila, Euxestophaga, Ganaspis, Hexacola, and Leptopilina genera, have been associated with D. suzukii in Argentina. Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), commonly known as "medfly," is native to Africa and has a worldwide distribution, covering many tropical, subtropical, and temperate regions. In Argentina, C. capitata has been associated with several native hymenopterous parasitoids belonging to Braconidae (Ichneumonioidea), Eulophidae (Chalcidoidea), Pteromalidae, Diapriidae, and Figitidae families. Only two eucoline species, Ganaspis pelleranoi (Brèthes) and Leptopilina haywardi (Blanchard) have been related to medfly in Argentina. We report new trophic associations between the parasitoids Dicerataspis grenadensis Ashmead and Leptopilina boulardi (Barbotin, Carton and Kelner-Pillault) and D. suzukii, and between the parasitoid Odontosema albinerve Kieffer and C. capitata, after surveys conducted in Tucumán, northwestern Argentina. An annotated checklist and a taxonomic key of Eucoilinae associated with both invasive pests, in Argentina, are also provided.

Ontogenetic morphological changes of the venom apparatus in 4 eupelmid egg parasitoids.

Parasitoid wasps, notably egg parasitoids of the family Eupelmidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea), a key natural enemy of insect pests, offer a sustainable approach to pest management in agriculture. This study investigated the venom apparatus's developmental dynamics across 4 species of eupelmid egg parasitoids: Anastatus. japonicus, Anastatus fulloi, Mesocomys trabalae and Mesocomys albitarsis. A comprehensive anatomical investigation revealed differences in the dimensions of the venom apparatus across different developmental stages in adult females. We found that the venom apparatus of these 4 studied species consists of a venom gland and a reservoir with an associated Dufour's gland. As the length of post-emergence increases, a significant enlargement in the venom apparatus is evident across all the studied parasitoid species. Notably, M. albitarsis consistently exhibites the shortest venom gland length, whereas that of A. fulloi is the longest among the observed species. At the high day age, the width of venom glands of the 2 Mesocomys species surpasses those of the Anastatus species; for the volume of the venom reservoir, there is a steady increase in all 4 species before the age of 6­7 days, with a decline on 8th day, especially for A. japonicus. This research provided new insights into the developmental trajectories of venom apparatus in eupelmid egg parasitoids and the potential impact of venom potency on their success.