Evaluating potential olive orchard sugar food sources for the olive fly parasitoid Psyttalia concolor

• Published in: BioControl (Dordrecht, Netherlands) Vol. 61; no. 5; pp. 473 - 483
• Main Authors: Furtado, C., Belo, A. F., Nunes, F. M., Ganhão, E., Müller, C. T., Torres, L., Rei, F. T.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01-10-2016; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Agriculture; Anchusa azurea; Animal Biochemistry; Animal Ecology; Bactrocera oleae; Behavioral Sciences; Biological control; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Braconidae; Diptera; Entomology; Flowers & plants; Foeniculum vulgare; Food; Food sources; Foraging behavior; Fruit flies; Fruits; Honeydew; Hymenoptera; Insecticide resistance; Insecticides; Insects; Lavatera cretica; Life Sciences; Natural enemies; Nepeta; Olea; Orchards; Pest control; Pesticide resistance; Pesticides; Plant nectar; Plant Pathology; Psyttalia concolor; Rosmarinus officinalis; Sugar; Survival; Tephritidae; Nectar; Conservation biological control; Hymenoptera; Survival; Honeydew
• ISSN: 1386-6141; 1573-8248
• DOI: 10.1007/s10526-016-9732-5

Olive fruit fly
Bactrocera oleae
(Rossi) (Diptera: Tephritidae) is a major olive pest in the Mediterranean basin where increasing insecticide resistance has enhanced damage and necessitates more reliance on other control strategies, such as biological control. Provision of floral resources has been reported to improve the effectiveness of natural enemies. Here, we tested the effect of six plant nectars and two honeydew sources on the survival of
Psyttalia concolor
(Szépligeti) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a parasitoid wasp used in the biological control of olive fruit fly. Our results showed a positive effect on survival associated with nectars of
Anchusa azurea
Mill.,
Rosmarinus officinalis
L.,
Lavatera cretica
L. and
Calamintha nepeta
(L.) Savi, while honeydew proved to be a valuable alternative food source. When offering flowers directly to insects,
Anchusa azurea
,
Lavatera cretica
, and
Foeniculum vulgare
L. were found to be the most beneficial species, indicating also that
P. concolor
feeds predominantly on shallow corollas.