Annals of the Entomological Society of America (2001) 94, 152-158

Ralph W. Howard (2001)
Cuticular hydrocarbons of adult Pteromalus cerealellae (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) and two larval hosts, angoumois grain moth (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) and cowpea weevil (Coleptera: Bruchidae)
Annals of the Entomological Society of America 94 (1), 152-158
Abstract: The pteromalid parasitoid Pteromalus cerealellae (Ashmead) is nominally a host-specific ectoparasitoid of the stored-product pest the Angoumois grain moth. It is readily cultured, however, on a number of other stored-product pests, including the cowpea weevil. The parasitoids resulting from these different hosts are disparate in size, leading me to ask if the cuticular hydrocarbons of P. cerealellae reared on different hosts would be different. This question is of importance because many parasitoids of stored-product pests use cuticular hydrocarbons as major species- and gender-recognition cues, and moth and beetle hosts differ greatly in their hydrocarbon profiles. The parasitoid hydrocarbon profile reported here was much more complex than the profiles of either host and showed both gender and host effects. Parasitoids reared on the larger cowpea weevils were larger than those reared on moths and contained substantially more hydrocarbon on their cuticle. Regardless of host, female wasps were always larger than males and contained more hydrocarbon than males. The hydrocarbon chemistry of wasps reared on different hosts were qualitatively the same, but quantitatively different. Both gender and host are important in the relative abundance of individual hydrocarbons. There are four major hydrocarbons of females constituting 49% of the total female profile: 3-MeC₂₉, 11-MeC₃₁, 3, 7-DiMeC₃₁ and 11, 17-, 11, 19- and 11, 21–DiMeC₃₃. There is one major male-specific hydrocarbon comprising 18% of the total hydrocarbons, 3, 7- and 3, 9–DiMeC₃₃. Although major gender differences occur between hydrocarbon classes, these differences are not host-related.
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Link to article at publishers website

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
identification/taxonomy

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
Pteromalus cerealellae (parasitoid)