Reproduction of Trichospilus diatraeae (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) in pupae of two lepidopterans defoliators of eucalypt

Abstract

Biological control of lepidopteran defoliators using parasitoids is a promising alternative. The objective of this work was to evaluate the reproduction of Trichospilus diatraeae (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) in pupae of the eucalypt defoliators Thyrinteina arnobia (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) and Hylesia paulex (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae). Host pupae were individualized in glass tubes (14 x 2.2 cm) with six parasitoid females for 24 h under controlled conditions [25 ± 2ºC; 70 ± 10% (RH) and 14 h photo phase]. T. diatraeae parasitized 95.8 ± 2.85% pupae of T. arnobia and 79.2 ± 6.72% of H. paulex, with an emergence rate of 89.6 ± 5.03% and 69.8 ± 6.13%, respectively. However, H. paulex pupae yielded large parasitoid progenies. No difference in the parasitoid sex ratio, adult size and longevity were observed between both hosts. The successful parasitism and development of T. diatraeae in pupae of T. arnobia and H. paulex suggest that this parasitoid can be an alternative for the biological control of these defoliators in eucalyptus plantations.