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Host Specificity of Parasitoid Wasps and Its Applications in Biological...
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Host Specificity of Parasitoid Wasps and Its Applications in Biological Control

A special issue of Insects (ISSN 2075-4450). This special issue belongs to the section "Insect Pest and Vector Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2025 | Viewed by 4531

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Alessandra Marieli Vacari

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratório de Entomologia, Universidade de Franca, Av. Dr Armando Sales de Oliveira, 201, Parque Universitário, 201, Franca 14404-600, SP, Brazil
Interests: integrated pest management; biological control; chemical ecology; plant–insect interactions; parasitoids; predators

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Biological control (biocontrol) is a safe, sustainable approach that harnesses natural enemies such as predators, parasitic insects, or pathogens to manage pests in agroecosystems. Parasitoid wasps, a diverse group of hymenopteran insects, are well-established biological control agents for arthropod pests in agricultural and forest ecosystems. This Special Issue aims to explore recent progress in the application of parasitoid wasps in biocontrol. Topics include the species diversity of parasitoid wasps, the identification of dominant parasitoid wasps associated with insect pests, and biocontrol practices such as classical, augmentative, and conservation biological control in various agroecosystems. Additionally, we will delve into different mass-rearing and release technologies, as well as the commercialization of several parasitoid wasp species. Furthermore, we will examine other research areas with potential applications in biocontrol, such as the effect of plant volatiles on parasitoids and recent advances in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying host regulation by parasitoid wasps. Finally, we will discuss future research directions and applied perspectives, emphasizing how advancements in biocontrol technologies in agriculture have global research implications.

Prof. Dr. Alessandra Marieli Vacari
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Insects is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • integrated pest management
  • biological control
  • chemical ecology
  • tritrophic interactions
  • parasitoid–host interaction
  • mass rearing
  • parasitoid wasps
  • field release
  • biocontrol agents

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 891 KiB  
Article
Evaluating Field-Collected Populations of Cotesia flavipes (Hymenoptera: Braconidae): Enhancing Biological Traits and Flight Activity for Improved Laboratory Mass Rearing
by Eder de Oliveira Cabral, Josy Aparecida dos Santos, Agda Braghini, Vinícius de Oliveira Lima, Enes Pereira Barbosa and Alessandra Marieli Vacari
Insects 2025, 16(6), 571; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects16060571 - 28 May 2025
Abstract
Due to the biofactories’ concern for the quality of the parasitoid Cotesia flavipes (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a common practice is to introduce a population collected from the field into the laboratory mass rearing, even without prior information about the introduced population’s quality or potential [...] Read more.
Due to the biofactories’ concern for the quality of the parasitoid Cotesia flavipes (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a common practice is to introduce a population collected from the field into the laboratory mass rearing, even without prior information about the introduced population’s quality or potential positive outcomes. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine whether populations of the C. flavipes parasitoid collected from the field exhibit better biological characteristics and flight activity, with the aim of incorporating them into laboratory mass rearing to enhance the quality of the parasitoids. To achieve this, a population of C. flavipes collected from the field (Pradópolis, SP, Brazil) was studied for twenty generations and compared with a population maintained in the laboratory for 42 years. The egg-to-pupa period in the field population was shorter across generations, particularly in the twentieth generation (11.0 days). Although the field population exhibited a lower number of adults that emerged per host in the fifth and tenth generations, by the twentieth generation, it showed higher offspring production per parasitized host (56.5 parasitoids/host). The results of the flight activity test revealed that both the laboratory-maintained population and the field-collected population exhibited higher percentages of insects classified as walkers compared to flyers (25.7% to 32.3% flying). The field-collected population stabilized in the laboratory by the tenth generation. Moreover, the results of the biological characteristics, longevity, and flight activity of the parasitoids indicate similar quality between the two populations studied after stabilization of the field-collected population. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Host Specificity of Parasitoid Wasps and Its Applications in Biological Control)
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19 pages, 6002 KiB  
Article
Aprostocetus nitens (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), an Ectoparasitoid Proposed for Biological Control of the Destructive Erythrina Gall Wasp, Quadrastichus erythrinae, in Hawaiʻi
by Mohsen M. Ramadan, Juliana A. Yalemar, Daniel Rubinoff, Mark G. Wright, Aimé H. Bokonon-Ganta and Xingeng Wang
Insects 2025, 16(5), 519; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects16050519 - 14 May 2025
Viewed by 308
Abstract
Aprostocetus nitens Prinsloo & Kelly (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) was identified as one of four hymenopteran ectoparasitoids utilizing three erythrina gall wasps, Quadrastichus bardus, Q. erythrinae, and Q. gallicola) (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) in the native eastern Africa. In Hawaiʻi, the eurytomid wasp, Eurytoma erythrinae Gates [...] Read more.
Aprostocetus nitens Prinsloo & Kelly (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) was identified as one of four hymenopteran ectoparasitoids utilizing three erythrina gall wasps, Quadrastichus bardus, Q. erythrinae, and Q. gallicola) (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) in the native eastern Africa. In Hawaiʻi, the eurytomid wasp, Eurytoma erythrinae Gates & Delvare (Hymenoptera: Eurytomidae), was introduced and approved for statewide release in 2008 to control the erythrina gall wasp (EGW) Q. erythrinae Kim. EGW has devastated the wiliwili trees, Erythrina sandwicensis Degener (Fabaceae), an ecologically and culturally important native Hawaiian tree species. However, the parasitoid’s impact on the galled inflorescences and shoots was not adequate to ensure adequate seed set and maturation for successful tree recruitment. Aprostocetus nitens was thus evaluated as a prospective natural enemy to enhance the biological control of EGW to further protect the wiliwili trees in Hawaiʻi. Both choice and no-choice host specificity tests were conducted on seven non-target gall formers in the Hawaii Department of Agriculture, Insect Containment Facility, and showed that the parasitoid was extremely specific to EGW. The potential for competition between this parasitoid and the established E. erythrinae was also investigated, showing that the release of a second parasitoid will potentially complement the success of the eurytomid wasp for control of EGW. Unlike what was found in the native region, the Hawaiian laboratory colony is thelytokous, producing only female offspring. The life cycle took 20.1 ± 0.28 days under the laboratory conditions. Non-ovipositing female survived for 102.5 ± 2.9 days when fed honey and laid eggs for 25.1 ± 2.3 days with average fecundity of 156.7 ± 22.3 offspring/female. This value is 3.9-fold higher than offspring produced by E. erythrinae. Aprostocetus nitens, host specificity, competition with E. erythrinae, and its tri-trophic association with 15 Erythrina host plants and 5 gall wasp assemblages in the native African regions were defined. Implications to reduce frequent galls on the native Erythrina plants and likely domination over E. erythrinae, are discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Host Specificity of Parasitoid Wasps and Its Applications in Biological Control)
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14 pages, 1489 KiB  
Article
Quality Assessment and Host Preference of Telenomus podisi (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) for Fresh and Cryopreserved Euschistus heros (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) Eggs
by Gabryele Silva Ramos, Rafael Hayashida, Pedro Hiroshi Passos Ikuno, Vanessa Rafaela de Carvalho, William Wyatt Hoback and Regiane Cristina de Oliveira
Insects 2025, 16(1), 86; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects16010086 - 16 Jan 2025
Viewed by 1451
Abstract
The development of the mass rearing technique for the egg parasitoid Telenomus podisi has been under study for about 20 years, with increasing attention on the development of quality control. Here, we evaluated the behavior, biological parameters, morphometrics and presence of endosymbionts of [...] Read more.
The development of the mass rearing technique for the egg parasitoid Telenomus podisi has been under study for about 20 years, with increasing attention on the development of quality control. Here, we evaluated the behavior, biological parameters, morphometrics and presence of endosymbionts of T. podisi produced in cryopreserved eggs compared to those produced in traditional fresh stink bug eggs. Parasitoids reared from cryopreserved eggs showed similar parasitism and emergence rates, sex ratios, longevity, morphometrics, and proportions of flyers compared to those originating from fresh eggs. Slight differences, including an increase in egg-to-adult development time and differences in the presence of endosymbionts, were observed. Despite these differences, we conclude that the use of cryopreserved eggs is suitable for T. podisi mass rearing, allowing more options for timed inundative parasitoid releases for biological control. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Host Specificity of Parasitoid Wasps and Its Applications in Biological Control)
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17 pages, 9249 KiB  
Article
Impacts of Combining Steinernema carpocapsae and Bracon hebetor Parasitism on Galleria mellonella Larvae
by Neama A. Aamer, Zeinab A. El-Moaty, Maria Augustyniak, Lamia M. El-Samad and Hanaa S. Hussein
Insects 2024, 15(8), 588; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects15080588 - 1 Aug 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1671
Abstract
The greater wax moth, Galleria mellonella, is a significant pest in apiculture and a well-established model organism for immunological and ecotoxicological studies. This investigation explores the individual and combined effects of the ectoparasite Bracon hebetor (B.h.) and the entomopathogenic nematode Steinernema carpocapsae [...] Read more.
The greater wax moth, Galleria mellonella, is a significant pest in apiculture and a well-established model organism for immunological and ecotoxicological studies. This investigation explores the individual and combined effects of the ectoparasite Bracon hebetor (B.h.) and the entomopathogenic nematode Steinernema carpocapsae (S.c.) on G. mellonella larvae. We evaluated the activity of oxidative stress enzymes, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione S-transferase (GST), malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, cytochrome P450 activity, cell viability using Annexin V-FITC, DNA damage via comet assay, and larval morphology through scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Control larvae exhibited higher GPx and GST activities compared to those treated with B.h., S.c., or the B.h. + S.c. combination. Conversely, MDA levels displayed the opposite trend. SOD activity was reduced in the B.h. and S.c. groups but significantly higher in the combined treatment. Cytochrome P450 activity increased in response to parasitism by B. hebetor. The Annexin V-FITC assay revealed decreased cell viability in parasitized groups (B.h. 79.4%, S.c. 77.3%, B.h. + S.c. 70.1%) compared to controls. DNA damage analysis demonstrated significant differences between groups, and SEM observations confirmed severe cuticle abnormalities or malformations in G. mellonella larvae. These findings highlight the complex interactions between B. hebetor, S. carpocapsae, and their host, G. mellonella. Additionally, they illuminate the intricate physiological responses triggered within the host larvae. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Host Specificity of Parasitoid Wasps and Its Applications in Biological Control)
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