Journal of Applied Entomology (2018) 142, 716-724

Mawufe Komi Agbodzavu, Mary Gikungu, Zipporah Osiemo Lagat, Ivan Rwomushana, Sunday Ekesi and Komi Kouma Mokpokpo Fiaboe (2018)
Acceptability and suitability of Spodoptera exigua (Hübner) for Cotesia icipe Fernandez-Triana and Fiaboe on amaranth
Journal of Applied Entomology 142 (7), 716-724
Abstract: The beet armyworm Spodoptera exigua (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is a polyphagous insect that is distributed worldwide and was recently reported as an important pest on African indigenous vegetables. Cotesia icipe Fernandez-Triana and Fiaboe (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) is a recently described parasitoid, reported from various Afrotropical countries. This work investigated the performance of C. icipe on S. exigua infesting Amaranthus dubius Mart. ex Thell. under laboratory conditions. Cotesia icipe was aggressive on the host and successfully oviposited on S. exigua with 70% of parasitoid females ovipositing after 2 hr of exposure. Parasitoid densities significantly affected the parasitism rate and the nonreproductive larval mortality. Parasitism rate was 9.7 ± 0.8% and 59.5 ± 3.1% for a single and cohort of five females released, respectively, when offered 50 host larvae. The cohort female release resulted in significantly higher larval nonreproductive mortality than the single release. However, there was no significant difference between parasitoid release densities in regard to pupal nonreproductive mortality. The larval and pupal mortalities in the presence of C. icipe were significantly higher than the natural mortalities at both parasitoid release densities. The parasitoid sex ratio was female-biased for the cohort females but balanced when a single female was released. The hind tibia and forewing lengths were not affected by the density of female parasitoids but there were variations according to sex. The implication of these findings on the potential use of C. icipe for biological control of S. exigua in amaranth production systems is discussed.
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Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Komi K.M. Fiaboe, Sunday Ekesi, Ivan Rwomushana, Mawufe Komi Agbodzavu

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.
	Spodoptera exigua
Cotesia icipe (parasitoid)	Spodoptera exigua