Identification and Occurrence of the Dominant Parasitic Wasp <i>Therophilus festivus</i> of Larval <i>Grapholita molesta</i>

Abstract

The oriental fruit moth, Grapholita molesta, is one of the most destructive orchard pests worldwide. Due to its behavior of boring into twigs and fruits, controlling the pest at the larval stage using insecticides is challenging. We studied the enemy species at the larval stage of G. molesta from seven fruit-growing areas by sampling peach shoots and fruits bored by its larvae. The occurrence and biological characteristics of the dominant enemy were verified using field investigation and laboratory experiments. The results showed that the dominant enemy species of larval G. molesta was identified as Therophilus festivus. The larval, cocoon, and pupal stages of T. festivus could not survive at 35 °C. The developmental durations of these three stages at 20 °C were significantly longer than those at 25 °C and 28 °C. Consecutive years of investigation in Xinxiang, China, indicated that T. festivus can parasitize G. molesta larvae collected at each generation. The parasitism rates in June (45.16%), July (63.50%), and August (48.37%) were significantly higher than those in April (15.27%). Most field research in China has focused on the release of parasitoids to control G. molesta eggs. Our study establishes a foundation for the control of G. molesta larvae using T. festivus.

Keywords

• biological control
• fruit borer
• <i>Grapholita molesta</i>
• natural enemy
• parasitic wasp
• peach fruits