Environmental Entomology (2014) 43, 1526-1534

William R. Morrison III, Gary A.P. Gibson and Zsofia Szendrei (2014)
The parasitoids of the asparagus miner (Diptera: Agromyzidae): Field parasitism and the influence of food resources on life history
Environmental Entomology 43 (6), 1526-1534
Abstract: The goals of this study were to identify pupal parasitoids of the asparagus miner, Ophiomyia simplex Loew (Diptera: Agromyzidae), and examine the effect of different diets and floral resources on the lifespan of adult asparagus miners and their parasitoids. We also measured the effect of parasitism on stem damage caused by the asparagus miner. The identity and abundance of the parasitoids of the asparagus miner were determined in asparagus fields in Michigan from weekly asparagus miner pupal collections during the 2010–2013 seasons. Twelve species of hymenopterous parasitoids were reared from asparagus miner pupae, including Chorebus rondanii (Giard) (Ichneumonoidea: Braconidae), 10 species in three families of Chalcidoidea, and one species of Bethylidae (Chrysidoidea), that represent new host records for the asparagus miner. C. rondanii and Thinodytes cephalon (Walker) (Pteromalidae) were the most common parasitoids. The effects of different diets and flowers on the lifespan of the pest and parasitoid adults were also evaluated. Buckwheat resulted in the shortest life span for the asparagus miner, whereas Riddell's goldenrod significantly increased its lifespan relative to the control. Parasitoid lifespan was doubled when individuals were fed sugar-rich diets. In the field, parasitoids preferred stems that contained more pupae and damage. The two most commonly reared parasitoids should be considered as targets for future conservation biological control efforts of the asparagus miner.
(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): William R. Morrison, Zsofia Szendrei

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
surveys/distribution/isolation

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Ophiomyia simplex		U.S.A. (NE)
Chorebus rondanii (parasitoid)	Ophiomyia simplex		U.S.A. (NE)
Thinodytes cephalon (parasitoid)	Ophiomyia simplex		U.S.A. (NE)