Biology and fitness characteristics of apanteles taragamae viereck (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)

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Abstract

Background and Objective: Diaphania indica (D. Indica) is a major pest of certain cucurbit plants. The species has been classified as minor pest in Indonesia, but has the potential to become a major pest. Apanteles taragamae, (A. taragamae) a larval parasitoid of D. indica, holds promise as a biological control agent of this cucumber pest. The objective of this study was to understand the effectiveness of A. taragamae as biological control agent for D. indica. Methodology: The effectiveness of A. taragamae was studied through its life cycle, egg maturation, fitness characteristics and functional responses. The biological data were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Tukey’s test. The relationship between body size and fecundity as well as functional responses was analyzed by simple regression analysis. Results: The incubation period of egg was 1-2 days. There are 3 instars stages of larva, the duration of 1st, 2nd and 3rd instar are 2, 3 and 2 days, respectively. Total larval phase is about 7 days, pupae formed in a few h after pre-pupa period. Pupae period is about 7 days. After emergence, female already in possession of a supply of mature eggs inside the ovaries which was significantly different for females of different ages (p<0.0001). Female possess high potential fecundity which highly correlates to her body size. In addition, A. taragamae shows host density-dependent responses to its host D. indica. Conclusion: The results indicate that A. taragamae is an effective koinobiont parasitoid species and biologically well-adapted to its host D. indica.

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Nurkomar, I., Novianti, N., Pudjianto, Manuwoto, S., & Buchori, D. (2017). Biology and fitness characteristics of apanteles taragamae viereck (Hymenoptera: Braconidae). Journal of Entomology, 14(3), 128–135. https://doi.org/10.3923/je.2017.128.135

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