Investigation of Egg Parasitoids in American Cockroach (Periplaneta americana L.) Populations in Antalya City Center

Abstract

Objective:In this research, it was aimed to determine whether oothecal parasitoids, biological control agents, were found in the oothecae collected from the breeding and development areas of American cockroach (Periplaneta americana L.) in city center of Antalya, Turkey.Methods:Between April and September 2014, the oothecae of P. americana were collected from the manholes, sewages and basements at five localities of Antalya city center. These oothecae were placed in plastic containers, and incubated for three months period at 26±2 °C and 60±5% RH with a photoperiod of 12:12 h (light: dark) conditions in the laboratory in order to determine the adult emergence of parasitoids.Results:At the end of three-month-incubation period, six parasitoids, Evania sp. (Linnaeus) (Hymenoptera: Evaniidae), emergenced from the oothecae collected from Toros neighborhood, Konyaaltı district. Parasitoid emergence was not observed in the oothecae collected from the other localities. Each ootheca with parasitoid emergence had only one exit hole.Conclusion:Cockroach populations are parasitized by parasitoids in natural areas. That’s why, it is important to carry out further investigations on the protection, reproduction and actively use of parasitoids which are important in terms of biological management in the cockroach control.

Keywords

• American cockroach (Periplaneta americana)
• biological control
• parasitoid
• ootheca