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16 November 2024 Testing the efficacy of Trichogramma ostriniae (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) as a inundative biological control agent in Western Nebraska
Jeffrey D. Cluever, Julie A. Peterson, Robert J. Wright, Sara Salgado Astudillo, Katharine Swoboda-Bhattarai, Priscila Colombo Da Luz, Samantha Daniel, Jeffrey D. Bradshaw
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Abstract

The western bean cutworm (Striacosta albicosta) is a primary pest of corn and dry edible bean, for which control measures are often warranted. Inundative releases of Trichogramma ostriniae have been used to control lepidopterous pests, such as the European corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis), in eastern North America (e.g., New York, Virginia). However, no prior field studies have assessed T. ostriniae as a biological control agent in the North American Great Plains. Objectives for this study were (i) to determine the suitability of S. albicosta as a host for T. ostriniae and (ii) to assess the feasibility of T. ostriniae as a biological control agent of S. albicosta in Nebraska corn and dry edible bean fields. Dispersal and parasitism were monitored with yellow sticky cards and sentinel egg masses (O. nubilalis, S. albicosta, and Ephestia kuehniella) at 36 locations surrounding a central release point. Trichogramma ostriniae adults tended to be concentrated near the point of release. However, egg parasitism was so low that the minimum rates of T. ostriniae needed for effective control could not be determined. Our evidence indicates that the low parasitism measured in this study may indicate low suitability of T. ostriniae to Western Nebraska and, possibly, the Great Plains.

Jeffrey D. Cluever, Julie A. Peterson, Robert J. Wright, Sara Salgado Astudillo, Katharine Swoboda-Bhattarai, Priscila Colombo Da Luz, Samantha Daniel, and Jeffrey D. Bradshaw "Testing the efficacy of Trichogramma ostriniae (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) as a inundative biological control agent in Western Nebraska," Environmental Entomology 54(1), 27-38, (16 November 2024). https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvae113
Received: 15 May 2024; Accepted: 24 October 2024; Published: 16 November 2024
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KEYWORDS
augmentative biological control
Climate
corn
dry edible bean
western bean cutworm
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