Antrocephalus mitys (Hymenoptera: Chalcididae) in laboratory cultures of Tenebrio molitor (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), and possible role in biological control of Ephestia cautella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

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.