Fernando Domingo Zinger

Parasitism Capacity of Trichogramma pretiosum and Trichogramma acacioi (Hym.: Trichogrammatidae) on eggs of Sitotroga cerealella (Lep.: Gelechiidae)

The objective of this work was to evaluate the parasitism capacity of Trichogramma pretiosum Riley and T. acacioi Brun, Moraes and Soares (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) in eggs of the alternative host Sitotroga cerealella (Olivier) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) aiming to use both species in biological control programs of Nipteria panacea Tierry-Mieg (Lepidoptera: Geometridae). The parasitism rhythm and total parasitism of these parasitoid species were affected by the temperature with higher values during the first 24 h of their life. Parasitism period was longer for T. pretiosum and T. acacioi at the lowest temperature.

Seletividade de inseticidas, recomendados para cucurbitáceas para Trichogramma atopovirilia Oatman & Platner (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) em condições de laboratório

Selectivity of pesticides used in cucurbits to Trichogramma atopovirilia Oatman & Platner (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) The cucurbit borers Diaphania spp. are major cucurbit pests, causing losses of up to 100% in production. Biological control with the parasitoid Trichogramma is an alternative for reducing the use of insecticides. The objective of this study was to evaluate the selectivity of the active ingredients abamectin, chlorfenapyr and thiacloprid to Trichogramma atopovirilia Oatman & Platner (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae). For this purpose, 20 newly emerged females of T. atopovirilla were confined individually in glass tubes (2.5 cm diameter x 8.5 cm in length), with 30 eggs of Diaphania hyalinata (Linnaeus) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) glued on a small cardboard strip that was previously immersed for five seconds in chemical solution. The active ingredients abamectin, chlorfenapyr and thiacloprid did not af fect the T. atopovirilia parasitism. However, chlorfenapyr reduced larval emergence. Abamectin and thiacloprid can be therefore recommended for the Integrated Pest Management, as they proved to be the most selective to T. atopovirilia in D. hyalinata eggs.

Does mating interfere in the biological characteristics of a population of Trichogramma pretiosum

Trichogramma spp. are parasitoids used in the regulation of insect populations that can cause economic damage. In order to ensure good performance, understanding some of their biological characteristics is essential. The objective of this study is to evaluate whether mating interferes with the biological characteristics of a population of Trichogramma pretiosum collected in the field. In all experiments, groups of mated and unmated females were used. We also verified any interference from mating on the biological characteristics of the offspring. We found that mating can alter the parasitism and longevity of genitor females, in addition to changing longevity among the descendants, but once parasitized, the eggs develop normally, showing similar emergence percentage and number of offspring as those from unmated females. In addition, we verified that the population of T. pretiosum collected in the field presented individuals with reproductive thelytokous and arrhenotokous characteristics. This fact highlights the importance of careful investigation on the reproduction mode of populations collected in the field, thus avoiding problems in the effective management of insect populations.

Selection of Beauveria bassiana (Bals.) Vuill. isolates for controlling Sitophilus zeamais (Mots.) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

Sitophilus zeamais (Mots.) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is considered a major pest of maize, responsible for reducing grain quality and making the corn inappropriate for industrial use and human consumption. S. zeamais has been controlled exclusively with chemical products. The objective of this research was to select isolates of Beauveria bassiana (Bals.) Vuill. to control S. zeamais. Beetles were immersed in conidia suspensions of each isolate for five seconds and placed in a gerbox container with maize grains. In pathogenicity tests, the isolates that caused the highest mortality to the maize weevil were ESALQ-447 (68.0%), CCA-UFES/ Bb-36 (57.3%) and CCA-UFES/Bb-31 (51.3%). ESALQ-447 was the most virulent, with an LC50 of 1.7 x 107 conidia/ml and shows promise for controlling maize weevils. These isolates of B. bassiana can be used as effective substitutes for conventional chemical control, normally carried out with phosphine. Further tests should be performed under field and semi-field conditions to develop an appropriate strategy for the use of this entomopathogen to manage S. zeamais.

PRIVAÇÃO DE HOSPEDEIRO E ALIMENTAÇÃO SOBRE AS CARACTERÍSTICAS REPRODUTIVAS DE TRICHOGRAMMA ATOPOVIRILIA (HYMENOPTERA: TRICHOGRAMMATIDAE)

Comparou-se o efeito de diferentes periodos de tempo sem hospedeiro nas caracteristicas reprodutivas de Trichogramma atopovirilia (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) alimentados ou nao. Ovos de Anagasta kuehniella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) e Sitotroga cerealella (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) foram utilizados como hospedeiros, sendo expostos a femeas desse parasitoide apos 0, 6, 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 84 ou 96 horas. Femeas de T. atopovirilia, alimentadas parasitaram ovos dos hospedeiros ate 96 horas sem os mesmos. No entanto, o parasitismo ocorreu ate o periodo de 24 horas em A. kuehniella e 48 horas com S. cerealella quando nao alimentados. O parasitismo, a emergencia e a razao sexual de T. atopovirilia foram semelhantes em ovos de A. kuehniella, mas com o aumento do periodo sem esse hospedeiro, decresce ao longo do tempo, com S. cerealella de forma semelhante foi observado para aquelas nao alimentadas. O alimento foi o principal fator que afetou no parasitismo de T. atopovirilia