Seasonal Mortality and Survival ofPieris rapae(Lepidoptera: Pieridae) in Missouri and the Effect of Introducing an Egg Parasite,Trichogramma evanescens

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Abstract
Populations of P. rapae (L.) at Columbia, Missouri, were very low at the onset of spring. Abundant host plants, lack of effective parasites and predators, and the high biotic potential of the host permitted the population to explode during the first 3 generations. By the 4th generation many wild host plants became unsuitable for larval development and parasite-predator populations rose sufficiently to check the increase. The introduced egg parasite, Trichogramma evanescens Westwood (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae), was found to be effective; parasitism ranged between 20 and 75% per host generation on plots where this parasite had been released. Apanteles glomeratus (L.) was not an effective parasite of the larva during the spring because of asynchronization, encapsulation, and hyperparasitism. After egg-larval mortality reached 96% the host population declined. Biotic agents associated with this host and the stages they attack are diagramed.

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