Interactions among Parasites of the Larch Casebearer (Lepidoptera: Coleophoridae) in Northern Idaho 1

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Abstract
Over 4,000 hymenopteran parasites were examined from mass rearings and dissection of overwintering, spring-feeding, and pupating larch casebearer collected from northern Idaho. These comprised 16 species, of which only two, Agathis pumila (Ratz.) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) and Chrisocharis laricinellae (Ratz.) (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) were introduced species. Abundant native parasites were Mesopolobus verditer (Norton) (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae), Spilochalcis albifrons (Walsh) (Hymenoptera: Chalcididae), and Tetrasticus coerulescens Ashm. (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae). Seasonal emergence patterns and observations of hyperparasitic behavior suggest strong competitive interactions among these five species. Nonetheless, overall parasitism of larch casebearer seems to be higher where both introduced parasite species are present.

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