Preferência do parasitoide cotesia flavipes (Cam.) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) a espécies de diatraea (Lepidoptera: Crambidae)

Abstract

The sugarcane borer Diatraea flavipennella (Box.) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), has ultimatelypredominated in the sugarcane fields of the Brazilian northeast region, despite the continual release of theparasitoid Cotesia flavipes (Cam.) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae). Questions have been raised about theefficiency of Diatraea spp. in controlling D. flavipennella. In this study, females reared in one of the borerswere tested individually and as hosts with the larvae of either of the Diatraea species alone or the larvae ofboth species. In the first experiment, the females were released for 10 min within the experimental arenausing only olfactory cues. In the second experiment, C. flavipes females were individually released for30 min. within the arena, allowing direct contact with its host, either D. saccharalis or D. flavipennella, orboth host species at the same time. The wasps showed no preference for either one of the hosts, thus beingable to locate borers in general.