Mass Rearing of Diglyphus begini (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) for Biological Control of Liriomyza trifolii (Diptera: Agromyzidae)

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Abstract
A method was developed for mass rearing the parasite Diglyphus begini Ashmead, using chrysanthemum, Dendranthema grandiflora Tzvelev, as the host plant and Liriamyza trifolii (Burgess) as the host. Four commercially rooted chrysanthemum cuttings were planted in 12.7-cm-diameter pots and held on greenhouse benches for about 30 d. Leaf area per pot after 30 d was 867.3 ± 35.3 cm2 (xˉ ± SEM; n = 27). Pots were exposed to adult leaf miners in colony cages for oviposition, which produced 357.4 ± 25.1 (xˉ ± SEM) larvae per pot. Plants containing late second to early third instars were exposed to adult D. begini in parasite colony cages for 24 h. The number of adult parasites emerging per pot was 99.7 ± 9.7 (xˉ ± SEM); 47% of these were females. The daily cost of parasite production (recurring costs only) was $19.40 per 1,000. With this technique, 140,000 parasites were field-released over a 3-mo period in 1986.