BioControl (2007) 52, 599-612

Sarina J. Jepsen, Jay A. Rosenheim and Chris E. Matthews (2007)
The impact of sulfur on the reproductive success of Anagrus spp. parasitoids in the field
BioControl 52 (5), 599-612
Abstract: Pesticides targeted at pest species have often been demonstrated to have strong adverse effects on the survival of biological control agents in short-term laboratory bioassays; however, studies examining the influence of pesticides on the actual reproductive success of biological control agents in the field are rare. Because natural enemy reproduction is often directly tied to biological control success, effects of pesticides on reproduction are of central importance. Here we use a new technique to examine the influence of sulfur, a fungicide widely used in grape production, on the reproductive success of Anagrus erythroneurae (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae) and Anagrus daanei (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae), egg parasitoids of the grape leafhopper, Erythroneura elegantula (Homoptera: Cicadellidae). Sulfur has previously been shown to be highly toxic to Anagrus spp. in short-term laboratory and field bioassays, creating the expectation that sulfur should also reduce Anagrus reproductive success in the field. Surprisingly, in two studies, the first comparing the oviposition success of Anagrus collected live in paired sulfur-treated versus untreated vineyards and the second comparing the lifetime reproductive success of Anagrus collected at the end of their lives in unpaired sulfur-treated versus untreated vineyards, we found no effect of sulfur on parasitoid reproductive success. In this system, traditional short-term assays of laboratory toxicity do not appear to predict effects on parasitoid reproductive success, suggesting that demographic approaches to assessing the disruptive effects of pesticides may have an important role in designing IPM programs.
(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): Jay A. Rosenheim

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
resistance to pesticides

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Erythroneura elegantula	Grapevine (Vitis)
Anagrus erythroneurae (parasitoid)	Erythroneura elegantula	Grapevine (Vitis)
Anagrus daanei (parasitoid)	Erythroneura elegantula	Grapevine (Vitis)