Functional Responses of Encarsia bimaculata to Parasitizing and Feeding Bemisia tabaci
Bemisia tabaci is an exotic,invasive,dangerous pest that causes severe damage to and losses in agriculture,gar-dening,and other plants.Relying on chemicals for B.tabaci control can easily lead to increased resistance to B.tabaci,pesti-cide residues,environmental pollution,and many other problems.There is an urgent need to find a green control strategy for B.tabaci.Encarsia bimaculata is the dominant natural enemy of B.tabaci in southern China.It can parasitize and feed on the nymphs of B.tabaci and has good application prospects.In this study,we analyzed the functional response of E.bimaculata parasitizing and feeding on nymphs of B.tabaci to clarify the parasitoid density of mass rearing and the ratio of field release,which is an essential step in the industrialization process of E.bimaculata.The results revealed that the maximum parasitism and intake of a mated female wasp were 4.05 and 7.46 B.tabaci nymphs,and the maximum intake of a virgin wasp was 5.65 B.tabaci nymphs.When the host density reached 15,the growth of the parasite was stable,and the optimal ratio(E.bimaculate:B.tabaci)for mass rearing was 1:15.These findings provide a theoretical basis for releasing the E.bimaculata in the field to control the B.tabaci.
Bemisia tabaciEncarsia bimaculataparasitism,feedingfunctional responsebiological control
万方数据
维普
