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Honeydew associated with four common crop aphid species increases longevity of the parasitoid wasp, Bracon cephi (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 May 2023

Tatyana A. Rand Open the ORCID record for Tatyana A. Rand [Opens in a new window]  and
Laura B. Senior
Tatyana A. Rand*
Affiliation:
Pest Management Research Unit, Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, 1500 N Central Avenue, Sidney, Montana, 59270, United States of America
Laura B. Senior
Affiliation:
Pest Management Research Unit, Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, 1500 N Central Avenue, Sidney, Montana, 59270, United States of America
*
*Corresponding author. Email: tatyana.rand@usda.gov
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Abstract

The absence of sugar resources can be an important factor in limiting the success of parasitoids as biological control agents. Restoring vegetation complexity within agricultural landscapes has thus become a major focus of conservation biological control efforts, with a traditional emphasis on nectar resources. Aphid honeydew is also an important source of sugars that is infrequently considered. We carried out a laboratory experiment to examine the potential effects of honeydew from six different aphid species by crop species combinations on the longevity of Bracon cephi Gahan (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), the most important biological control of the wheat stem sawfly, Cephus cinctus Norton (Hymenoptera: Cephidae), a major pest of wheat in the northern Great Plains of North America. The benefits of honeydew for parasitoid longevity varied significantly among different aphid and crop species, illustrating the complexity of these interactions. However, honeydew produced by four aphid species commonly found in wheat, pea, and canola crops significantly increased the longevity (by two- to threefold) of the parasitoid. The study suggests that honeydew provisioning could be an important mechanism underlying the benefits of crop diversification to support biological control that merits further research.

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Type
Scientific Note
Information
The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 155 , 2023 , e20
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Creative Commons
This is a work of the US Government and is not subject to copyright protection within the United States. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Entomological Society of Canada.
Copyright
© United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, 2023.

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Footnotes

Subject Editor: Christopher Cutler

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