DISPERSAL AND ESTABLISHMENT OF PLEOLOPHUS BASIZONUS (HYMENOPTERA: ICHNEUMONIDAE)

Abstract

AbstractPleolophus basizonus (Gravenhorst) is a parasitoid from Europe introduced in Canada and liberated between 1939 and 1949 to supplement natural mortality factors of sawfly populations. Three recoveries reported in the literature show that the parasitoid has dispersed 81 km at 4.3 km per year in Ontario, between 109 and 161 km at 4.5 and 5.6 km per year in Quebec, and 172 km at 8.6 km per year in Michigan. Dispersal occurs by walking, possibly by short flights and by water while the parasitoid is within the host cocoon. Female parasitoids do not fly unless disturbed and dispersal by water cannot account for their movement in Quebec. In observation trays, the mean rate of travel on the ground by female parasitoids was 20.9 cm per minute. This speed is sufficient to account for the rates of dispersal recorded in the field. The parasitoid was present in every jack pine stand sampled between 1965 and 1968 in the western part of the St. Maurice River watershed in Quebec. The most abundant host was Neodiprion swainei Middleton. Absolute population estimates indicate that the parasitoid responds positively to host density and that it is an important addition to the native parasitoid complex.