Environmental Entomology (1991) 20, 288-291

Jerome F. Grant and Raymond Noblet (1991)
Response of Brachymeria ovata (Hymenoptera: Chalcididae) to live and freezer-stored pupae of Anticarsia gemmatalis (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)
Environmental Entomology 20 (1), 288-291
Abstract: Storage of pupae of Anticarsia gemmatalis Hübner in a freezer maintained at -20°C for 150-250 d did not affect the ability of the chalcidid Brachymeria ovata (Say) to recognize them as hosts. Odors from live and freezer-stored pupae elicited significant olfactory and behavioral responses by B. ovata. When offered either 10 live pupae or 10 freezer-stored pupae, B. ovata parasitized significantly more (about twice as many) of the live pupae. However, when offered both five live and five freezer-stored pupae together, B. ovata parasitized, on the average, 16 times more of the live pupae. When presented with a choice between a freezer-stored pupa and a live pupa using a Y tube olfactometer, B. ovata showed a significant olfactory preference for the live pupa. When presented with a choice between a freezer-stored pupa and a blank cell, B. ovata was attracted to the freezer-stored pupa. Approximately the same length of time was required for B. ovata females to locate a live pupa as that required to locate a freezer-stored pupa when each pupal type was offered alone.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)

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

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Anticarsia gemmatalis
Brachymeria ovata (parasitoid)	Anticarsia gemmatalis