Environmental Entomology (1990) 19, 625-629

Oscar P.J.M. Minkenberg (1990)
Reproduction of Dacnusa sibirica (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), an endoparasitoid of leafminer Liriomyza bryoniae (Diptera: Agromyzidae) on tomatoes, at constant temperatures
Environmental Entomology 19 (3), 625-629
Abstract: The parasitoid Dacnusa sibirica Telenga is currently used for seasonal inoculative biological control of the leafminers Liriomyza bryoniae (Kaltenbach) and Liriomyza trifolii (Burgess) on glasshouse vegetables in northwest Europe. The braconid is effective from the beginning of the season until July, when average temperatures vary between 15 and 20°C. To estimate the potential reproduction (R₀) of the parasitoid, the effect of temperature (15, 20, and 25°C) on its fecundity, longevity, and oviposition rate was examined in the laboratory. Fecundity and longevity decreased with increasing temperatures, but did not differ significantly between 20 and 25°C. Oviposition rate was highest at 20°C, apparently the optimum temperature for oviposition.
The R₀ of D. sibirica decreased with increasing temperatures. Therefore, D. sibirica is expected to be less effective for the biological control of leafminers on tomato at high temperatures. The use of potential population growth, R₀ or r_m, to evaluate parasitoids' effectiveness is discussed.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
general biology - morphology - evolution
environment/habitat manipulation

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Liriomyza bryoniae	Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)	Netherlands
Dacnusa sibirica (parasitoid)	Liriomyza bryoniae	Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)	Netherlands