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LIFE HISTORY OF THE APHID HYPERPARASITOID ASAPHES VULGARIS WALKER (PTEROMALIDAE): POSSIBLE CONSEQUENCES ON THE EFFICACY OF THE PRIMARY PARASITOID APHIDIUS NIGRIPES ASHMEAD (APHIDIIDAE)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2012

Jacques Brodeur  and
Jeremy N. McNeil
Jacques Brodeur
Affiliation:
Département de phytologie, Université Laval, Sainte-Foy (Québec), Canada G1K 7P4
Jeremy N. McNeil
Affiliation:
Déartement de biologie, Université Laval, Sainte-Foy (Québec), Canada G1K 7P4
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Abstract

Aspects of the life history of the aphid hyperparasitoid Asaphes vulgaris Walker, when reared on Aphidius nigripes Ashmead, were investigated under laboratory conditions. Longevity was significantly related to temperature and to the sex of adults. Female life span was about 4 months at 15 °C compared with 46 days at 25 °C; under the same conditions male longevity was 66 and 19 days, respectively. Females started to oviposit in aphid mummies upon eclosion and lifetime fecundity was high, reaching 1433 offspring. The sex ratio (proportion of males) was low early in reproductive life but rose sharply after several weeks. The implications of these results on the efficacy of A. nigripes in the potato agrosystem are discussed. It is suggested that high hyperparasitoid fecundity and longevity might play a role in reducing the impact of the primary parasitoid.

Résumé

Nous avons étudié au laboratoire certains paramètres démographiques de l’hyperparasitoïde de puceron Asaphes vulgaris Walker, lorsqu’ élevé sur Aphidius nigripes Ashmead. La température et le sexe des adultes influencent la longévité. La durée de vie des femelles est d’environ 4 mois à 15 °C et de 46 jours à 25 °C. En comparaison, la longévité des mâles est respectivement de 66 et 19 jours sous les mêmes conditions. Les femelles, qui initient la ponte dès l’éclosion, ont une fécondité très élevée, pouvant atteindre 1433 descendants. Le rapport des sexe (proportion de mâles) est bas en début de vie reproductive mais augmente rapidement après plusieurs semaines. Nous discutons les conséquences de ces résultats sur l’efficacité de A. nigripes dans l’agrosystème de la pomme de terre. Nous suggérons que la fécondité élevée et la grande longévité de l’hyperparasitoïde sont des facteurs qui peuvent réduire l’impact du parasitoïde primaire.

Type
Articles
Information
The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 126 , Issue 6 , December 1994 , pp. 1493 - 1497
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 1994

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