BioControl (2007) 52, 721-732

Sarina J. Jepsen, Jay A. Rosenheim and Molly E. Bench (2007)
The effect of sulfur on biological control of the grape leafhopper, Erythroneura elegantula , by the egg parasitoid Anagrus erythroneurae
BioControl 52 (6), 721-732
Abstract: We examined the toxicity of a fungicide, sulfur, to the egg parasitoid Anagrus erythroneurae (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae) Trjapitsyn and Chiapini and the vineyard leafhopper pest Erythroneura elegantula Osborn (Homoptera: Cicadellidae) and tested whether or not the use of sulfur in the field affects biological control of E. elegantula. Using field cage bioassays, we demonstrated that sulfur is toxic to adult A. erythroneurae parasitoids, but not toxic to adult E. elegantula leafhoppers. We nonetheless found in a field experiment that sulfur produced no changes in rates of parasitism or E. elegantula egg density, and generated only a very small increase in the density of E. elegantula nymphs. These results suggest that sulfur, although toxic to A. erythroneurae, is not highly disruptive of E. elegantula biological control in vineyards. Our results suggest that simple bioassays of acute toxicity may not accurately predict the impact of agricultural chemicals on biological control.
(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)