Determination of Parasitoid performance of Trichogramma evanescens Westwood (Lepidoptera: Trichogrammatidae) on Stored product moth, Ephestia kuehniella Zeller (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

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In this study we have tested parasitization performance of Trichogramma evanescens Westwood (Lepidoptera: Trichogrammatidae) in biological control of Ephestia kuehniella Zeller (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae). The effects of parasitoid age on parasitization performance of T. evanescens during lifespan, parasitism rate, sex ratio and emergence were studied. We also evaluated the host age on parasitism capacity of T. evanescens. Experiment was carried out in climatic room at 26±1 ºC temperature, 65±10 % humidity, 16 hours light, 8 hours dark regime. The most prefered host eggs were the youngest (one day-old) and the number of parasitized egg decreased with increasing host age. In the first day of total lifespan, 75 % of E. kuehniella eggs were parasitized by T. evanescens. Most of the parasitizations were performed by T. evanescens during the first day of parasitism, and 75% of the E. kuehniella eggs were parasitized at this day. This rate decreased below 50% at six day, and 34.4 % at eight day. The emergence rate of parasitoid adults was 95.06 %, Female biassed sex ratio was observed and the percentage of female was 83.77. It was determined that the parasitism capacity of T. evanescens was high and caused significant decrease in the E. kuehniella population. It was concluded that this parasitoid can be able to use in biological control of stored product moths, especially E. kuehniella in flour mills.

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Stored product , Ephestia kuehniella , T. evanescens , Parasitism capacity

Erciyes University Journal Of The Institute Of Science an‎d Technology

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Erciyes University Journal Of The Institute Of Science an‎d Technology