Environmental Entomology (2020) 49, 1041-1048

Xingeng Wang, Ellen M. Aparicio, Jian J. Duan, Juli Gould and Kim A. Hoelmer (2020)
Optimizing parasitoid and host densities for efficient rearing of Ontsira mellipes (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) on Asian longhorned beetle (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae)
Environmental Entomology 49 (5), 1041-1048
Abstract: Ontsira mellipes Ashmead is a gregarious larval ectoparasitoid of woodboring cerambycids. It is native to North America but can readily attack the exotic Asian longhorned beetle, Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky). This study aimed to develop an efficient rearing system for this parasitoid, as a potential novel association biocontrol agent for the beetle, by investigating the effects of different densities of host (two, three, or four larvae) and parasitoid (one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, and eight female wasps) on Ontsira 's parasitization efficiency and reproductive outcomes. Results showed that overall parasitism and total numbers of parasitized hosts or progeny produced increased with host and/or parasitoid densities, but the number of parasitized hosts or progeny produced per female parasitoid decreased with parasitoid density at each given host density. Nonlinear regression indicated a consistent pattern of mutual interference as parasitoid density increased. Additional experiments showed that superparasitism (indirect interference) did not occur probably because the parasitoid detects hosts through vibration cues from host feeding and attacked (thus paralyzed) hosts are no longer detectable. Thus, the interference probably results from direct or exploitative competition. Interestingly, female parasitoids responded to increased parasitoid density with a significant increase in clutch size. Overall, per capita parasitization efficiency or reproductive outcomes were optimized at a low parasitoid–host ratio but with large group size of hosts and parasitoids. Therefore, an optimal combination of exposing three or four parasitoids to four hosts is proposed for efficient mass-rearing of this parasitoid.
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Database assignments for author(s): Xin-Geng Wang, Jian J. Duan, Juli R. Gould, Kim A. Hoelmer

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

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Anoplophora glabripennis		U.S.A. (NE)
Ontsira mellipes (parasitoid)	Anoplophora glabripennis		U.S.A. (NE)