Demographics and host-kill parameters of Diglyphus horticola Khan against Chromatomyia horticola (Goureau)

• Published in: Bulletin of entomological research Vol. 113; no. 2; pp. 230 - 242
• Main Authors: Katoch, S., Sharma, P. L., Verma, S. C., Chandel, R. S., Sharma, P., Sharma, N.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.04.2023
• Subjects: Age; Animals; Biological control; Chromatomyia horticola; Demographics; Demography; Developmental biology; Diptera; Feeding behavior; Female; Host-parasite interactions; Hymenoptera; Larva; Larvae; Mass production; Parameters; Parasitism; Parasitoids; Peas; Pest control; Pest Control, Biological - methods; Pests; Population growth; Research Paper; Survival; Wasps; India; Agromyzidae; km; rm; Eulophidae; pea leafminer
• ISSN: 0007-4853; 1475-2670
• DOI: 10.1017/S0007485322000499

The pea leafminer, Chromatomyia horticola (Goureau) (Diptera: Agromyzidae) is a polyphagous and serious pest of peas. In India, this pest is attacked by many parasitoids and among them Diglyphus horticola Khan (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) is an important one, however, demographics and pest-kill potential of this parasitoid has not been studied so far. This study presents the first report on its demographics and pest-kill potential on C. horticola. The parasitoid showed three modes of host-killing behaviour viz. host-feeding, parasitism and host-stinging. The parasitoid females killed more number of hosts by parasitism than host-feeding or host-stinging. The pre-adult survival, net reproductive rate, intrinsic rate of increase (rm) and finite rate of increase (λ) were higher on the 5-days old host larvae than those reared on the 3-days old larvae. Demographics and pest-kill parameters of D. horticola were also better on 5-days old host larvae than on 3-days old host larvae. Based on the study, D. horticola appeared to be a promising biocontrol agent for the suppression of C. horticola in peas and could be promoted through conservation biological control. Further studies are required to standardize the mass production protocol and release rates to use the parasitoid by augmentation.