Trichogramma evanescens

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Trichogramma evanescens
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Trichogrammatidae
Genus: Trichogramma
Species:
T. evanescens
Binomial name
Trichogramma evanescens
Westwood, 1833

Trichogramma evanescens is a 0.5mm long [1] parasitoid wasp which parasites Lepidoptera eggs.

Use for biocontrol

In the Philippines this parasitoid has been used to eradicate the Asian Corn Borer, a pest of maize in East Asia. Some companies sell this insect in the pupal stage to be deposited in fields that have Lepidoptera pests. [2]

In 2021 the National Trust in England embarked on a trial of using T. evanescens, which parasitises clothes moth eggs, in conjunction with pheromones to control common clothes moths, which cause serious damage to carpets, furniture, clothing and other wool and silk objects in historic buildings. [3] The trial was abandoned in 2023; while the microwasps performed well at reducing moth populations in combination with pheromones, they were no better than pheromones alone. [4] It was suspected that the high interiors may not have been suitable and the Trust may continue to use the wasps in smaller stores or where they can be sited close to a known infestation source. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lepidoptera</span> Order of insects including moths and butterflies

Lepidoptera or lepidopterans is an order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organisms, making it the second largest insect order with 126 families and 46 superfamilies, and one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parasitoid</span> Organism that lives with its host and kills it

In evolutionary ecology, a parasitoid is an organism that lives in close association with its host at the host's expense, eventually resulting in the death of the host. Parasitoidism is one of six major evolutionary strategies within parasitism, distinguished by the fatal prognosis for the host, which makes the strategy close to predation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tachinidae</span> Family of insects

The Tachinidae are a large and variable family of true flies within the insect order Diptera, with more than 8,200 known species and many more to be discovered. Over 1,300 species have been described in North America alone. Insects in this family commonly are called tachinid flies or simply tachinids. As far as is known, they all are protelean parasitoids, or occasionally parasites, of arthropods, usually other insects. The family is known from many habitats in all zoogeographical regions and is especially diverse in South America.

<i>Helicoverpa zea</i> Species of moth

Helicoverpa zea, commonly known as the corn earworm, is a species in the family Noctuidae. The larva of the moth Helicoverpa zea is a major agricultural pest. Since it is polyphagous during the larval stage, the species has been given many different common names, including the cotton bollworm and the tomato fruitworm. It also consumes a wide variety of other crops.

<i>Trichogramma</i> Genus of parasitic insects

Trichogramma is a genus of minute polyphagous wasps that are endoparasitoids of insect eggs. Trichogramma is one of around 80 genera from the family Trichogrammatidae, with over 200 species worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indianmeal moth</span> Species of moth

The Indianmeal moth, also spelled Indian meal moth and Indian-meal moth, is a pyraloid moth of the family Pyralidae. Alternative common names are hanger-downers, weevil moth, pantry moth, flour moth or grain moth. The almond moth and the raisin moth are commonly confused with the Indian-meal moth due to similar food sources and appearance. The species was named for feeding on Indian meal or cornmeal, and does not occur natively in India. It is also not to be confused with the Mediterranean flour moth, another common pest of stored grains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Light brown apple moth</span> Species of moth (Epiphyas postvittana)

The light brown apple moth is a leafroller moth belonging to the lepidopteran family Tortricidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Braconidae</span> Family of wasps

The Braconidae are a family of parasitoid wasps. After the closely related Ichneumonidae, braconids make up the second-largest family in the order Hymenoptera, with about 17,000 recognized species and many thousands more undescribed. One analysis estimated a total between 30,000 and 50,000, and another provided a narrower estimate between 42,000 and 43,000 species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parasitoid wasp</span> Group of wasps

Parasitoid wasps are a large group of hymenopteran superfamilies, with all but the wood wasps (Orussoidea) being in the wasp-waisted Apocrita. As parasitoids, they lay their eggs on or in the bodies of other arthropods, sooner or later causing the death of these hosts. Different species specialise in hosts from different insect orders, most often Lepidoptera, though some select beetles, flies, or bugs; the spider wasps (Pompilidae) exclusively attack spiders.

<i>Tineola bisselliella</i> Species of moth

Tineola bisselliella, known as the common clothes moth, webbing clothes moth, or simply clothing moth, is a species of fungus moth. It is the type species of its genus Tineola and was first described by the Swedish entomologist Arvid David Hummel in 1823. It and a number of closely-related species are together known as the clothes moths due to their role as pests in human households. The specific name is commonly misspelled biselliella – for example by G. A. W. Herrich-Schäffer, when he established Tineola in 1853.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diamondback moth</span> Species of moth

The diamondback moth, sometimes called the cabbage moth, is a moth species of the family Plutellidae and genus Plutella. The small, grayish-brown moth sometimes has a cream-colored band that forms a diamond along its back. The species may have originated in Europe, South Africa, or the Mediterranean region, but it has now spread worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mediterranean flour moth</span> Species of moth

The Mediterranean flour moth or mill moth is a moth of the family Pyralidae. It is a common pest of cereal grains, especially flour. This moth is found throughout the world, especially in countries with temperate climates. It prefers warm temperatures for more rapid development, but it can survive a wide range of temperatures.

<i>Agrotis ipsilon</i> Species of moth

Agrotis ipsilon, the dark sword-grass, ipsilon dart, black cutworm, greasy cutworm or floodplain cutworm, is a small noctuid moth found worldwide. The moth gets its scientific name from black markings on its forewings shaped like the letter "Y" or the Greek letter upsilon. The larvae are known as "cutworms" because they cut plants and other crops. The larvae are serious agricultural pests and feed on nearly all varieties of vegetables and many important grains.

<i>Achaea janata</i> Species of moth

Achaea janata, the castor semi-looper or croton caterpillar, is an erebid moth, the caterpillars of which are termed 'semi-loopers' due to their mode of locomotion. It is found from the Indo-Australian tropics and subtropics, extending south to New Zealand and east through the Pacific archipelagoes to Easter Island. It is a major pest of castor throughout the world.

<i>Mythimna unipuncta</i> Species of moth

Mythimna unipuncta, the true armyworm moth, white-speck moth, common armyworm, or rice armyworm, is a species of moth in the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Adrian Hardy Haworth in 1809. Mythimna unipuncta occurs in most of North America south of the Arctic, as well as parts of South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Although thought to be Neotropical in origin, it has been introduced elsewhere, and is often regarded as an agricultural pest. They are known as armyworms because the caterpillars move in lines as a massive group, like an army, from field to field, damaging crops.

<i>Chloridea virescens</i> Species of moth

Chloridea virescens, commonly known as the tobacco budworm, is a moth of the family Noctuidae found throughout the eastern and southwestern United States along with parts of Central America and South America.

<i>Cadra figulilella</i> Species of moth

Cadra figulilella, the raisin moth, is a moth of the family Pyralidae. The raisin moth is known most commonly as a pest that feeds on dried fruits, such as the raisin and date. It covers a range that includes much of the world, primarily situating itself in areas of California, Florida, the Eastern Mediterranean region, and some parts of Africa, Australia, and South America. The moth prefers to live in a hot, arid climate with little moisture and plentiful harvest for its larvae to feed on. Study of this species is important due to the vast amount of economic damage it causes yearly and worldwide to agriculture crops.

<i>Cadra calidella</i> Species of moth

Cadra calidella, the dried fruit or date moth, is a species of snout moth in the genus Cadra and commonly mistaken for the species Cadra figulilella. It thrives in warmer conditions and is found primarily in Mediterranean countries, although it can also be found in Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Transcaucasia, Caucasus, and the western part of Russia. It feeds on dried fruits, carobs, nuts and seeds, hence earning its colloquial name. This diet damages the food industry, and it is a common storage pest. Because of this, much research has been done to study ways to limit its reproduction rate and population size. It was first described by Achille Guenée in 1845.

<i>Cydalima perspectalis</i> Species of moth

Cydalima perspectalis or the box tree moth is a species of moth of the family Crambidae, first described by Francis Walker, the English entomologist, in 1859. Native to Japan, China, Taiwan, Korea, far-east Russia and India, it has invaded Europe; first recorded in Germany in 2006, then Switzerland and the Netherlands in 2007, Great Britain in 2008, France and Austria in 2009, Hungary in 2011, then Romania, and Spain. It has been seen in Slovakia, Belgium and Croatia.

<i>Ostrinia furnacalis</i> Species of moth

Ostrinia furnacalis is a species of moth in the family Crambidae, the grass moths. It was described by Achille Guenée in 1854 and is known by the common name Asian corn borer since this species is found in Asia and feeds mainly on corn crop. The moth is found from China to Australia, including in Java, Sulawesi, the Philippines, Borneo, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Micronesia. The Asian corn borer is part of the species complex, Ostrinia, in which members are difficult to distinguish based on appearance. Other Ostrinia such as O. orientalis, O. scapulalis, O. zealis, and O. zaguliaevi can occur with O. furnacalis, and the taxa can be hard to tell apart.

References

  1. "Blickling Hall: Wasps deployed to protect mansion from moths". BBC News. 17 February 2021.
  2. De Liñán, Carlos (2010). Vademecum de productos fitosanitarios y nutricionales (in Spanish). pp. 146–147.
  3. "Conservation at Blickling Hall, Norfolk". National Trust. 2022.
  4. "'Surprising' clothes moths slump of nearly 40% across National Trust houses, possibly helped by record heat and drought, charity's annual insect pests report finds" (Press release). National Trust. 13 February 2023.
  5. "'Surprising' clothes moths slump of nearly 40% across National Trust houses, possibly helped by record heat and drought, charity's annual insect pests report finds". WebWire.