Old and New Association of Cotesia icipe (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) with Alien Invasive and Native Spodoptera Species and Key Stemborer Species: Implication for their Management
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Date
2023-08
Authors
Obala, Francis
Mohamed, Samira A
Magomere, titus Obidi
Subramanian, Sevgan
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Maize production in Africa is hindered by a myriad of biotic challenges, key among them being invasive and
native lepidopteran stemborers. Recent invasion of the continent by fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, has further exacerbated the situation. Fortunately, Cotesia icipe was found to be very promising against S. frugiperda. However, the co-occurrence
and interaction between S. frugiperda and the stemborers (Busseola fusca, Sesamia calamistis, and Chilo partellus) in maize
agroecosystem may jeopardize the efficiency of C. icipe as a biocontrol agent of S. frugiperda. This study investigated the performance of C. icipe on S. frugiperda, Spodoptera littoralis and the stemborers. Specifically, the preference and acceptability of
C. icipe to the host insects, the physiological suitability of the hosts for its development, and the effect of these hosts on the
fitness parameters of the offspring were assessed.
RESULTS: Cotesia icipe accepted all the tested hosts, albeit with higher preference for Spodoptera species than for stemborers
under multiple-choice tests. Also, the highest parasitism of up to 97% was recorded on S. frugiperda compared with parasitism
on the stemborers of 43% in B. fusca. Moreover, physiological suitability and fitness traits (except for per cent female offspring)
varied with host species, again being optimal on Spodoptera species.
CONCLUSION: Cotesia icipe demonstrated strong potential to control S. frugiperda in maize due to its high affinity for parasitization and developmental success in this host; and despite its non-specific parasitization, the presence of other hosts may not
prevent its maximum control of S. frugiperda
Description
Article
Keywords
biological control, parasitoid host range, invasive pest, fall armyworm, maize agroecosystem
Citation
Obala, F., Mohamed, S. A., Magomere, T. O., & Subramanian, S. (2023). Old and new association of Cotesia icipe (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) with alien invasive and native Spodoptera species and key stemborer species: Implication for their management. Pest Management Science, 79(12), 5312-5320.