Bulletin of Entomological Research (2004) 94, 169-177

A.R. Mahmood, S.S. Liu, Z.H. Shi, X.H. Song and M.P. Zalucki (2004)
Lack of intraspecific biological variation between two geographical populations of Oomyzus sokolowskii (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), a gregarious larval-pupal parasitioid of Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae)
Bulletin of Entomological Research 94 (2), 169-177
Abstract: The chalcid, Oomyzus sokolowskii Kurdjumov has been recorded in many parts of the world as a major larval-pupal, gregarious endoparasitoid of the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (Linnaeus), a serious pest of brassica vegetable crops worldwide. This study investigated intraspecific variation between two populations of O. sokiolowskii, one from Cape Verde Islands, West Africa and the other from Hangzhou, China. In all crosses and backcrosses between the two geographical populations, the numbers of progeny and sex ratio of progeny were similar to those obtained within each of the populations, demonstrating complete reproductive compatibility between the two populations. The two populations showed similar responses to temperature with respect to development time and survival of immature stages. Observations on the interactions between the two O. sokolowskii populations and Cotesia plutellae (Kurdjumov), another major parasitoid of P. xylostella, showed that neither population could achieve successful parasitism of P. xylostella larvae already parasitized by C. plutellae. However, both O. sokolowskii populations could achieve hyperparasitism by ovipositing into a mid-late stage larva of C. plutellae developing inside the primary host. Contrary to earlier reports, no evidence of intraspecific variations in ability to hyperparasitize between these two populations of O. sokolowskii was found.
(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): Shu-Sheng Liu, Myron P. Zalucki

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.
	Plutella xylostella		China (south)
	Plutella xylostella		Cape Verde Islands
Cotesia vestalis (parasitoid)	Plutella xylostella
Oomyzus sokolowskii (parasitoid)	Plutella xylostella		China (south)
Oomyzus sokolowskii (parasitoid)	Plutella xylostella		Cape Verde Islands