Biology of the ectoparasitoid wasp Agrothereutes lanceolatus (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae): Host acceptance and larval development on a laboratory host

Abstract

Agrothereutes lanceolatus is a common parasitoid attacking several woodland and orchard lepidopteran pests in Japan. This study was undertaken to examine development of A. lanceolatus when Galleria mellonella was used as a laboratory host. Both wild-caught and laboratory-reared females readily accepted G. mellonella cocoons for attack and oviposition. The percentage successful parasitism was over 80%, suggesting that G. mellonella was a very suitable host for A. lanceolatus. The parasitoid was a solitary species: Under superparasitism lethal competition among early instars took place, and only one parasitoid developed to an adulthood, although two parasitoid offspring emerged in some exceptional cases. Female A. lanceolatus also accepted host cocoons containing pupae of the parasitoid Pimpla nipponica (Ichneumonidae) for oviposition, and the offspring developed successfully as a hyperparasitoid. This suggested that A. lanceolatus was a facultative hyperparasitoid.