APPLICATION OF ELIMINADE™ PARASITOID FOOD TO BOLES AND CROWNS OF PINES (PINACEAE) INFESTED WITH DENDROCTONUS FRONTALIS (COLEOPTERA: SCOLYTIDAE)

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Abstract
The southern pine beetle, Dendroctonus frontalis Zimmermann, is native to pine forests of the southern United States. We describe here techniques for enhancing parasitoid efficacy by direct feeding of parasitoid adults. Our recent research suggests that feeding by female adult D. frontalis parasitoids is important for increased longevity (Mathews and Stephen 1997, 1999; Stephen et al. 1997), and we documented that, with parasitoid feeding, egg resorption decreases and development of new immature eggs increases (Hanano 1996). We suspect that food for D. frontalis parasitoids, in the form of nectar, pollen, or honeydew, is not always available in the forest. We are developing a commercial D. frontalis control strategy based on this assumption.