Affiliation:
1. Pest Management Research Unit, Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Sidney, MT
Abstract
Abstract
Providing sugar resources for parasitoids is an important component of habitat management approaches to bolster biological control. We screened three flowering cover crop species, and one aphid species, for their potential to increase the longevity of the parasitoid wasp, Bracon cephi (Gahan) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), an important biological control agent of the wheat stem sawfly, Cephus cinctus Norton (Hymenoptera: Cephidae). We found that buckwheat and honeydew from the cereal aphid, Rhopalosiphum padi (Linnaeus) (Hemiptera: Aphididae), increased longevity of B. cephi females by over threefold, while longevity on sunflower and coriander was not significantly different from controls on wheat. The results suggest that incorporating buckwheat into cover crop mixes could enhance parasitoid performance. However, the finding that honeydew associated with a common aphid in wheat provides a suitable resource suggests that a better understanding of the varying quality, and spatial and temporal availability, of aphid honeydew will be a critical consideration in evaluating the potential benefits of managing floral resources for parasitoid conservation in this system.
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Subject
Insect Science,Ecology,General Medicine
Cited by
12 articles.
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