Importance of host feeding in the biological control of insect pests: case study of egg parasitoid species (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Trichogrammatidae) | MDPI
Cabello García, Tomás | Gallego Granados, Juan Ramón | López García, María Inmaculada | Gámez Cámara, Manuel Angel | Garay, József
The use of oophagous species from the genus Trichogramma—small wasp—in the control of pest species, both in agriculture and forestry, is the most important example of this type of control because of the area in which it is implemented. They are called parasitoids because the female seeks out the host—the pest species—from which its offspring feed and develop. Until now, this mechanism of action was thought to be due to the parasitism relationships established between the immature stages of the parasitoid and its host; however, it has been shown that the directed ‘host-feeding’ mechanism of the adult mothers, acting as predators, plays a very important ecological role. This proves that there are much more complex parasitoid–parasitoid relationships than predator–predator relationships. This has implications for the current state of knowledge and can be applied in biological control involving parasitoid species.
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