Jilin Engineering Research Center of Resource Insects Industrialization, Institute of Biological Control, Jilin Agricultural University, 2888 Xincheng Street, 130118, Changchun, China.
University of California Davis, Salinas, CA, 93905, USA.
Sci Rep. 2019 Mar 1;9(1):3229. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-39505-7.
Chouioia cunea Yang (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) has been widely used for biological control of the fall webworm, Hyphantria cunea (Drury) (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae), in China. The yellow mealworm, Tenebrio molitor L. (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), an important resource insect species distributed worldwide, is considered to be a potential alternative host for mass rearing of C. cunea to the Chinese oak silkworm, Antheraea pernyi (Guerin-Meneville) (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae), which is currently used. In this study, we investigated the effects of host age on C. cunea mass rearing by measuring parasitism, development and adult fertility of C. cunea on T. molitor pupae of different ages. The results showed no significant differences in the percentage of parasitized hosts and developmental time of C. cunea in pupae of different ages. However, the number of C. cunea adults (137.2-154.7 adults per host) that emerged from 0, 1, and 2-day-old pupae was significantly higher than that from 4-day-old pupae. The lowest percentages of unemerged adults were found in 2-day-old (1.2%) and 3-day-old (1.4%) pupae, which were significantly lower than that of 4-day-old pupae (10.3%). The emergence of adult females from 0 to 2-day-old pupae (120.2-142.3 per pupa) was significantly higher than that from 4-day-old hosts (64.6). Adult females emerging from 2-day-old pupae carried significantly more eggs (258.2 eggs/female) than those from 0 and 1-day-old pupae (178.4-178.9 eggs/female). Our findings indicated that 2-day-old pupae of T. molitor were most suitable to rear C. cunea. Overall, this research provided valuable information to optimize pupae for the mass rearing of C. cunea on host T. molitor.
球孢白僵菌（Hymenoptera: Eulophidae）已被广泛用于中国生物防治秋粘虫（Hyphantria cunea（Drury）（鳞翅目：Arctiidae））。黄粉虫，Tenebrio molitor L.（鞘翅目：Tenebrionidae），一种分布广泛的重要资源昆虫物种，被认为是大量饲养球孢白僵菌的潜在替代宿主，用于饲养中国橡树蚕，Antheraea pernyi（Guerin-Meneville）（鳞翅目：Saturniidae），目前正在使用。在这项研究中，我们通过测量球孢白僵菌对不同年龄的黄粉虫蛹的寄生率、发育和成虫生殖力，研究了宿主年龄对球孢白僵菌大规模繁殖的影响。结果表明，不同年龄的宿主蛹中，球孢白僵菌的寄生率和发育时间无显著差异。然而，从 0、1 和 2 日龄蛹中孵化的球孢白僵菌成虫数量（每头宿主 137.2-154.7 头）明显高于从 4 日龄蛹中孵化的数量。未孵化成虫的最低百分比出现在 2 日龄（1.2%）和 3 日龄（1.4%）蛹中，明显低于 4 日龄蛹（10.3%）。从 0 日龄到 2 日龄的蛹中孵化的雌成虫（每头 120.2-142.3 头）明显高于从 4 日龄宿主中孵化的成虫（64.6 头）。从 2 日龄蛹中孵化的雌成虫携带的卵数（258.2 个/雌）明显多于从 0 日龄和 1 日龄蛹中孵化的雌成虫（178.4-178.9 个/雌）。我们的研究结果表明，黄粉虫 2 日龄蛹最适合饲养球孢白僵菌。总的来说，这项研究为优化宿主黄粉虫的大规模饲养球孢白僵菌提供了有价值的信息。
