Florida Entomologist (2013) 96, 634-637

Alexandre I.A. Pereira, Tiago G. Pikart, Francisco S. Ramalho, Sagadai Manickavasagam, José E. Serrão and José C. Zanuncio (2013)
Antrocephalus mitys (Hymenoptera: Chalcididae) in laboratory cultures of Tenebrio molitor (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), and possible role in biological control of Ephestia cautella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)
Florida Entomologist 96 (2), 634-637
Abstract: Ephestia cautella (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) is a cosmopolitan pest of stored products. It was found abundantly in a yellow mealworm mass rearing facility in Viçosa, Minas Gerais State, Brazil feeding on wheat flour and associated with a chalcid parasitoid. This wasp was identified as Antrocephalus mitys (Walker) (Hymenoptera: Chalcididae), a pupal parasitoid of moth stored products pests. In the laboratory, E. cautella pupae were successfully parasitized by A. mitys and fertile offspring were obtained. The presence of A. mitys in the mealworm colony suggests that this chalcid is adapted to artificial environments and has the potential to be deployed as a biological control agent in postharvest stored product facilities.
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Full text of article
Database assignments for author(s): José Cola Zanuncio, José Eduardo Serrao, Francisco de Sousa Ramalho

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.
	Cadra cautella		Brazil (south)
Antrocephalus mitys (parasitoid)	Cadra cautella		Brazil (south)