Biocontrol Science and Technology (2005) 15, 585-600

C.W. Gitau, A.J. Ngi-Song, W.A. Overholt and S.A. Otieno (2005)
Acceptance and suitability of four lepidopteran stemborers for the development of the pupal parasitoid Xanthopimpla stemmator (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae)
Biocontrol Science and Technology 15 (6), 585-600
Abstract: Xanthopimpla stemmator (Thunberg), a solitary endoparasitoid of lepidopteran stemborer pupae, was recently imported into East Africa as a candidate biological control agent of gramineous stemborers. Suitability of Busseola fusca Fuller, Chilo partellus (Swinhoe), Eldana saccharina (Walker) and Sesamia calamistis Hampson, for the development of X. stemmator was studied in the laboratory. One- to 6-day-old laboratory reared pupae of the four stemborer species were exposed to naïve X. stemmator females. All host pupae and ages were acceptable for oviposition. The parasitoids inflicted multiple probe wounds on 67.8% of pupae exposed. B. fusca, C. partellus and S. calamistis were equally suitable with 56.4, 59.4 and 52.3%, respectively, of probed pupae leading to emergence of adult parasitoids. E. saccharina was less suitable with only 22.6% of probed pupae producing parasitoids. Emergence of parasitoids did not differ significantly across the six pupal ages for B. fusca and S. calamistis, but varied for C. partellus and E. saccharina. No parasitoids emerged from 6-day-old E. saccharina pupae. Realized fecundity of females reared on the four stemborer pupae showed that fewer progeny were produced by females emerging from E. saccharina than females reared on the other three stemborer species. Eldana saccharina may be a poor host for X. stemmator in Kenya, but this parasitoid is a potential candidate for biological control of B. fusca, C. partellus and S. calamistis.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): William A. Overholt, Catherine Gitau

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

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Chilo partellus		Kenya
	Sesamia calamistis		Kenya
	Busseola fusca		Kenya
	Eldana saccharina		Kenya
Xanthopimpla stemmator (parasitoid)	Chilo partellus		Kenya
Xanthopimpla stemmator (parasitoid)	Sesamia calamistis		Kenya
Xanthopimpla stemmator (parasitoid)	Busseola fusca		Kenya
Xanthopimpla stemmator (parasitoid)	Eldana saccharina		Kenya