Behavioral responses of Pseudapanteles dignus (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) females for reproduction

SALAS GERVASSIO NG; MINARDI GRACIELA; LUNA MG

Ciudad de Buenos Aires

Conferencia; 7th International Entomophagous Insects Conference; 2023

UBA-INTA-CEPAVE

Reproductive behavior in insects responds, among other complex chemicalsignals, to olfactory cues coming from individuals of the same or otherspecies. In this study, we begun to elucidate those cues used by the parasitoidPseudapanteles dignus, a biological control agent of the South Americantomato pinworm Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), in its search forfood and oviposition resources. Thus, tests were carried out in a Y-tubeolfactometer where the following cues were evaluated: 1) food resources, byoffering Solanum melongena, S. americanum, or S. sisyimbriifolium vs. tomato (S.lycopersicum) flowers, and 2) oviposition resources, by offering tomato plantsinfested with T. absoluta larvae or with its feces vs. clean tomato plants. Thewasps were placed individually in the central arm of the Y-tube and observedduring 15 min using an image analyzer (Ethovision XT) to record: a) thechoice towards one of the odor sources, b) the distance travelled, c) thevelocity, and d) the proportion of movement activity, measured as theproportion of the time in movement / the total time of the experiment (900sec). In general, wasps showed a moderate trend towards floral resources.Regarding oviposition resources, they were oriented towards T. absolutalarvae but not to their feces. This information contributes to understandingthe behavior of P. dignus for its manipulation in conservation biologicalcontrol programs.