Potential of Hymenopteran larval and egg parasitoids to control stored-product beetle and moth infestation in jute bags.

The control of stored-product moths in bagged commodities is difficult because the developmental stages of the moths are protected by the bagging material from control measures such as the application of contact insecticides. Studies were carried out to assess the ability of Hymenopteran parasitoids to locate their hosts inside jute bags in the laboratory. The ability of different parasitoids to penetrate jute bags containing rice was investigated in a controlled climate chamber. Few Habrobracon hebetor (Say) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) passed through the jute material while a high percentage of Lariophagus distinguendus (Förster), Anisopteromalus calandrae (Howard) (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae), Theocolax elegans (Westwood) (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) and Trichogramma evanescens Westwood (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) were able to enter the Petri-dishes. Significantly more L. distinguendus and T. elegans entered compared to H. hebetor. There was significant difference in the mean percentage parasitoids invading depending on species. Head capsules and/or thorax widths were measured in order to determine whether the opening in the jute material would be large enough for entry of the parasitoids. These morphometric data differed depending on parasitoid species and sex. The parasitoid Venturia canescens (Gravenhorst) (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) did not enter the bags, but located host larvae inside the jute bags and parasitized rice moths Corcyra cephalonica larvae by stinging through the jute material. Venturia canescens significantly reduced the number of C. cephalonica adults emerging from the bagged rice; therefore, it could be released in storage rooms containing bagged rice for biological control of C. cephalonica. The use of parasitoids to suppress stored-product insect pests in bagged commodities could become a valuable supplement to the use of synthetic pesticides.

Aggregation pheromone system of adult gregarious desert locust schistocerca gregaria (forskal).

Six electrophysiologically active aromatic compounds, viz., anisole, benzaldehyde, veratrole, guaiacol, phenylacetonitrile, and phenol, were identified in the volatiles of older-adult male desert locust. Young adults and females of all age groups produced none or only trace quantities of these compounds. Comparison of the aggregation responses of young and older adults to the crude, older-adult, volatile extract and different synthetic blends of the six compounds showed that the aggregation pheromone system of the adult gregarious locust consists of phenylacetonitrile, guaiacol, phenol, and benzaldehyde. Like the crude volatile extract of older males, neither the synthetic blend of the six compounds nor the adult pheromone blend evoked any significant aggregation responses from nymphs. These results confirm our previous report of sexual differentiation in the production of adult aggregation pheromone in the desert locust and of the evidence of two distinct aggregation pheromone systems in the two stages of the insect.

Fecal volatiles as part of the aggregation pheromone complex of the desert locust,Schistocerca gregaria (Forskal) (Orthoptera: Acrididae).

Olfactometric bioassays showed that nymphs of crowded desert locusts,Schistocerca gregaria, aggregated in response to volatiles derived from their feces and to volatiles emitted from the feces of young adults, but were indifferent to volatiles emitted by older adult feces. On the other hand, young and older adults were not only responsive to their own fecal volatiles but also cross-responsive to each other's and that of the nymphs. Charcoal-trapped volatiles from the feces and synthetic blends of the fecal volatiles also elicited similar responses. Young adults responded moderately to a blend of nymphal volatiles and those derived from nymphal feces. GC-EAD and GC-MS analysis of the trapped volatiles revealed the presence of guaiacol and phenol as predominant electrophysiologically active components of nymphal and young adult feces. Fecal volatiles of older adult contained phenylacetonitrile in addition to guaiacol and phenol, which were present in relatively lower proportion. These results suggest that fecal volatiles are part of the aggregation pheromone complex of the desert locust, which includes the pheromone blends produced by nymphs and older adults, respectively.

Evidence for mediation of two releaser pheromones in the aggregation behavior of the gregarious desert locust,Schistocerca gregaria (forskal) (Orthoptera: Acrididae).

The response of nymphal and adult gregarious phase desert locust,Schistocerca gregaria, to a choice of two columns of air, one permeated with airborne volatiles emanating from nymphs or adults and the other untreated, was investigated in a single-chamber bioassay arena. The nymphs, whether released individually or in groups, preferred to be within the precinct of the air column treated with airborne volatiles of the nymphs but were indifferent to volatiles of the adults. Conversely, older adults responded only to their own volatiles but not to those of the nymphs or young adults. The young adults were responsive only to volatiles of the older adults. Charcoal-trapped volatiles from the nymphs and the adults reproduced the effect of living locusts. These results indicate that there are two different aggregation pheromones inS. gregaria: a juvenile pheromone produced by nymphs and an adult pheromone specific to adults.