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Oviposition response and development of the egg-pupal parasitoid Fopius arisanus on Bactrocera oleae, a tephritid fruit fly pest of olive in the Mediterranean basin

TitleOviposition response and development of the egg-pupal parasitoid Fopius arisanus on Bactrocera oleae, a tephritid fruit fly pest of olive in the Mediterranean basin
Publication TypeArticolo su Rivista peer-reviewed
Year of Publication2002
AuthorsCalvitti, Maurizio, Antonelli M., Moretti Riccardo, and Bautista R.C.
JournalEntomologia Experimentalis et Applicata
Volume102
Pagination65-73
ISSN00138703
KeywordsBactrocera oleae, biological control, Biosteres, Braconidae, Capitata, Carica, Carica papaya, Ceratitis, Ceratitis capitata, Dacus oleae, developmental biology, Diptera, Drosophila melanogaster, Fopius arisanus, Hexapoda, host-parasitoid interaction, Hymenoptera, insecta, Invertebrata, Mediterranean region, Olea europaea, Oleaceae, Opius, Oviposition, pest control, Tephritidae
Abstract

To date, information is wanting with regard to the use of new exotic parasitoids against olive fruit fly, Bactrocera (=Dacus) oleae (Gmelin) (Diptera: Tephritidae), a serious pest of olives Olea europaea L., in the Mediterranean basin. We investigated the oviposition response and developmental biology on B. oleae of Fopius (=Biosteres) arisanus (Sonan) (=Opius oophilus Fullaway) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), an egg-pupal parasitoid of tephritid fruit flies, never tested before as a potential parasitoid of this host. Our results showed that olive fruits infested with B. oleae eggs exerted a relevant attraction to gravid F. arisanus and represented a stimulus for oviposition. Nevertheless they were not as attractive to female parasitoids as the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata Wiedemann (Diptera: Tephritidae), eggs infested papaya fruits (Carica papaya L.). In our experimental conditions, F. arisanus completed development in B. oleae within 33 ± 1.7 days (males) and 35 ± 1.6 (females). Increases in host egg to female parasitoid ratios of 1:1, 5:1, 10:1 and 20:1 corresponded with decreases in the percentage of B. oleae parasitisation and host killing but corresponded also with increases in absolute parasitisation. Our findings are discussed in light of possibilities of utilising F. arisanus for biological control of olive fruit fly.

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URLhttps://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-0036095713&doi=10.1023%2fA%3a1015234805231&partnerID=40&md5=57915665f75a8447bab7712a67cc94b4
DOI10.1023/A:1015234805231
Citation KeyCalvitti200265