15 the Parasitoid Wasp Habrobracon Hebetor
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Vol. 23 (December 2020) Insect Environment The parasitoid wasp Habrobracon hebetor (Say): a potential biocontrol agent for almond moth Cadra cautella in stored dates Hamadttu A. F. El-Shafie *Date Palm Research Center of Excellence, King Faisal University P.O. Box 400, Hofuf, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia Department of Crop Protection, University of Khartoum, Faculty of Agriculture, 13314 Shambat, Sudan *Corresponding author: [email protected] *Current address Introduction The almond moth, Cadra cautella causes serious economic damage to stored dates. Post- harvest management of this moth involves the use of chemical fumigants as well as non- chemical alternatives such as heat treatment and modified atmosphere storage. The larval ectoparasitoid wasp Habrobracon hebetor (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) is a potential biological control agent for stored-product pests including dates. This article gives a brief overview on the parasitoid biology, behavior and mode of host parasitization. Morphological and biological characteristics Adult wasp is small about 2 mm in length and has variable colors ranging from yellowish-brown to dark brown or black. The female body is usually larger than the male body and is characterized by conspicuous black ovipositor that can be easily seen underneath the hyaline membranous wings (Mbata and Warsi, 2019). Eggs of H. hebetor (0.52 mm length and 0.12 mm width) are spindle shaped and slightly curved. Pupa is exarate type and protected by a cocoon produced by the last instar larva (Pezzini et al., 2017). The parasitoid wasp, H. hebetor is cosmopolitan in distribution (Castaňé et al., 2018) and has a complete metamorphosis with life cycle consisting of egg, larva, pupa and adult stages (Fig.1). 15 Vol. 23 (December 2020) Insect Environment Fig. 1: Life history of the parasitoid wasp H. hebetor. Adult female (A); Egg (B); Larva (C) and pupa inside cocoon (D) [Photo: Hamadttu El-Shafie] H. hebetor displays the arrhenotokous haplo-diploid sex determination mechanism, where haploid male offspring develop from unfertilized eggs through parthenogenesis, while diploid males or females emerge from fertilized eggs (Mbata et al., 2019). Females of this parasitoid emerge with a few limited number of mature eggs (synovigenic) and must feed on host or other materials to maintain metabolic activity and egg production (Gündüz and Gülel, 2010). The process of egg laying took only 15 minutes to be completed. It took about 42 minutes from the start of stinging the host larva until the deposition of the first egg. The female lives for 23 days during which it produces about 100 eggs. H. hebetor has four larval instars that are completed in only four days (Pezzini et al., 2017). Pupation takes place in white transparent silken cocoons spun by the last instar of full-grown larvae. The cocoon protects the developing pupa from physical damage, predators, desiccation and hyperparasitoids (Pezzini et al., 2017). Adult wasps emerge five days after pupation and the time of development from egg to adult is about 10-12 days depending on the host and environmental conditions (Pezzini et al., 2017). Newly emerged female parasitoid starts searching for host larvae to parasitize by injection of venom (Sanower et al., 2017) (Fig 2). The venom of the parasitoid consists of polypeptides that block glutamatergic neuromuscular transmission at the presynaptic nerve terminal, causing the death of host larvae within 15 minutes (Hagstrum and Smittle, 1978). 16 Vol. 23 (December 2020) Insect Environment Fig 2: Females of the parasitoid H. hebetor in the act of searching and stinging a fifth instar larva of C. cautella [Photo: Hamadttu El-Shafie] Conclusion The relatively short life cycle, the ease of mass-rearing, ability to access hidden overwintering host larvae and compatibility with other biocontrol agents make H. hebetor an ideal parasitoid for management of pyralid moths in dates storage ecosystem. References Castaňé, C., Riudavets, J. and Lucas, E. 2018. Parasitism of single or combined pyralid populations by Venturia canescens and Habrobracon hebetor in laboratory and storeroom conditions. Journal of Pest Science, 91: 1421-1428. Gündüz, E. A. and Gülel, A. 2010. Protein, lipid and glycogen levels in the parasitoid Bracon hebetor Say (Hymenoptera: Braconidae). Turkish Journal of Zoology, 34: 243-248. Hagstrum, D. W. and Smittle, B. J. 1978. Host utilization by Bracon hebetor. Environmental Entomology, 7: 596-600. Mbata, G. N. and Warsi, S. 2019. Habrobracon hebetor and Pteromalus cerealellae as tools in post-harvest integrated pest management. Insects, 10, 85; doi: 10.3390/insects10040085 17 Vol. 23 (December 2020) Insect Environment Pezzini, C., Jahnke, S. M., and Köhler, A. 2017. Morphological characterization of immature stages of Habrobracon hebetor (Hymenoptera, Braconidae) ectoparasitoid of Ephestia kuehniella (Lepidoptera, Pyralidae). Journal of Hymenoptera Research, 60: 157-171. Sanower, W., Mbata, G. N. and Payton, M. E. 2017. Improvement of reproductive performance of Habrobracon hebetor: Consideration of diapausing and non-diapausing larvae of Plodiainterpunctella. Biological Control, 118: 32-36. 18 .