Environmental Entomology (2013) 42, 888-901

Roger I. Vargas, John D. Stark, John Banks, Luc Leblanc, Nicholas C. Manoukis and Steven Peck (2013)
Spatial dynamics of two Oriental fruit fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) parasitoids, Fopius arisanus and Diachasmimorpha longicaudata (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), in a guava orchard in Hawaii
Environmental Entomology 42 (5), 888-901
Abstract: We examined spatial patterns of both sexes of oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel), and its two most abundant parasitoids, Fopius arisanus (Sonan) and Diachasmimorpha longicaudata (Ashmead) in a commercial guava (Psidium guajava L.) orchard. Oriental fruit fly spatial patterns were initially random, but became highly aggregated with host fruit ripening and the subsequent colonization of, first, F. arisanus (egg-pupal parasitoid) and, second, D. longicaudata (larval-pupal parasitoid). There was a significant positive relationship between populations of oriental fruit fly and F. arisanus during each of the F. arisanus increases, a pattern not exhibited between oriental fruit fly and D. longicaudata. Generally, highest total numbers of males and females (oriental fruit fly, F. arisanus, and D. longicaudata) occurred on or about the same date. There was a significant positive correlation between male and female populations of all three species; we measured a lag of 2-4 wk between increases of female F. arisanus and conspecific males. There was a similar trend in one of the two years for the second most abundant species, D. longicaudata, but no sign of a time lag between the sexes for oriental fruit fly. Spatially, we found a significant positive relationship between numbers of F. arisanus in blocks and the average number in adjoining blocks. We did not find the same effect for oriental fruit fly and D. longicaudata, possibly a result of lower overall numbers of the latter two species or less movement of F. arisanus within the field.
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Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Roger I. Vargas, Luc Leblanc

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
population dynamics/epizootiology

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Bactrocera dorsalis	Guava (Psidium)	U.S.A. (Hawaii)
Fopius arisanus (parasitoid)	Bactrocera dorsalis	Guava (Psidium)	U.S.A. (Hawaii)
Diachasmimorpha longicaudata (parasitoid)	Bactrocera dorsalis	Guava (Psidium)	U.S.A. (Hawaii)