title: Interspecific competition between Snellenius manilae and Meteorus pulchricornis, larval parasitoids of Spodoptera litura.
abstract: Snellenius manilae (Ashmead) and Meteorus pulchricornis (Wesmael) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) are larval endoparasitoids of Spodoptera litura (Fabricius) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Both species preferentially parasitize early-instar S. litura and occupy similar ecological niches. Therefore, competition between the two species may occur. In this study, intrinsic competition and cage experiments were conducted to discuss the interactions between S. manilae and M. pulchricornis. The results indicated that in intrinsic competition, M. pulchricornis was always the dominant species. In cage experiments, when the total number of parasitoids was four, the parasitism rates following the release of one species were significantly higher than the release of two species simultaneously. In addition, parasitism rate of eight M. pulchricornis was also significantly higher than the parasitism rate of the treatment released four S. manilae and four M. pulchricornis simultaneously. Therefore, competition occurs between S. manilae and M. pulchricornis, and M. pulchricornis is typically the superior of the two species. The use of M. pulchricornis as a biological agent for S. litura should be considered.
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology,National Chung Hsing University,Taichung,Taiwan.
authors.forename: W-T
authors.initials: WT
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology,National Chung Hsing University,Taichung,Taiwan.
authors.forename: S-Y
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Hwang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D003163:Competitive Behavior; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D013045:Species Specificity; D018411:Spodoptera / Q000469:parasitology*; D014863:Wasps / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Meteorus pulchricornis; Snellenius manilae; Spodoptera litura; interspecific competition; intrinsic competition