How to translate text using browser tools
11 January 2016 Impact of the Egg Parasitoid, Gryon pennsylvanicum (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae), on Sentinel and Wild Egg Masses of the Squash Bug (Hemiptera: Coreidae) in Maryland
Mary L. Cornelius, Matthew L. Buffington, Elijah J. Talamas, Michael W. Gates
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Seasonal changes in egg parasitism and predation rates on sentinel (laboratory-reared) and wild (naturally occurring) egg masses of the squash bug, Anasa tristis (De Geer), were evaluated in squash fields in Maryland from June through September in 2013 and 2014. Rates of egg parasitism were significantly higher on wild egg masses than on sentinel egg masses. Squash bug nymphal emergence was significantly higher on sentinel egg masses than on wild egg masses. Between the first week of July and the first week of September of both survey years, squash bug nymphs emerged from 24.2% of wild eggs compared with 46.2% of sentinel eggs and parasitoids emerged from 55.7% of wild eggs compared with only 21.8% of sentinel eggs. Sentinel egg masses significantly underestimated the rate of natural egg parasitism. The egg parasitoid, Gryon pennsylvanicum (Ashmead), was responsible for over 99% of parasitism of squash bug eggs. There was a significant negative correlation between parasitoid emergence and nymphal emergence, suggesting that parasitoids were able to suppress squash bug populations. The average rate of parasitoid emergence peaked on wild egg masses on the fifth week of July at 72.8%, whereas the average rate of nymphal emergence from wild egg masses was <20% from the fifth week of July until the first week of September. These results demonstrate that G. pennsylvanicum was able to efficiently track wild squash bug eggs throughout the season and that it has the potential to be an effective biological control agent of the squash bug in Maryland.

Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America 2016. This work is written by US Government employees and is in the public domain in the US.
Mary L. Cornelius, Matthew L. Buffington, Elijah J. Talamas, and Michael W. Gates "Impact of the Egg Parasitoid, Gryon pennsylvanicum (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae), on Sentinel and Wild Egg Masses of the Squash Bug (Hemiptera: Coreidae) in Maryland," Environmental Entomology 45(2), 367-375, (11 January 2016). https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvv228
Received: 31 August 2015; Accepted: 19 December 2015; Published: 11 January 2016
JOURNAL ARTICLE
9 PAGES

This article is only available to subscribers.
It is not available for individual sale.
+ SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

KEYWORDS
biological control
egg parasitism
egg predation
pest Management
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top