title: An Old Remedy for a New Problem? Identification of Ooencyrtus kuvanae (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), an Egg Parasitoid of Lycorma delicatula (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae) in North America.
abstract: Spotted Lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula (White) is a recently introduced pest of Tree-of-Heaven, Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle in North America. Natural enemy surveys for this pest in Pennsylvania in 2016 recovered an encyrtid egg parasitoid from both field collections and laboratory rearing of field-collected L. delicatula egg masses. Both molecular and morphological data confirm that the egg parasitoids are Ooencyrtus kuvanae (Howard) (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae). Ooencyrtus kuvanae (Howard) is primarily an egg parasitoid of gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (L.), and was introduced to North America in 1908 for gypsy moth biological control. Although O. kuvanae is known to attack multiple host species, to our knowledge, this is the first report of O. kuvanae as a primary parasitoid of a non-lepidopteran host. Potential of O. kuvanae in the biological control of L. delicatula in North America and research needs are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Harrisburg, PA 17105 hliu@pa.gov.
authors.forename: Houping
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: USDA ARS Systematic Entomology Laboratory, Washington, DC 20013.
authors.forename: Jason
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mottern
mesh_terms: D032268:Ailanthus / Q000254:growth & development; D000818:Animals; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV / Q000235:genetics; D006430:Hemiptera / Q000254:growth & development / Q000469:parasitology*; D006927:Hymenoptera / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D010063:Ovum / Q000469:parasitology; D010414:Pennsylvania; D010572:Pest Control, Biological; D012339:RNA, Ribosomal, 28S / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D019476:Insect Proteins; D012339:RNA, Ribosomal, 28S; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV
keywords: Lycorma delicatula; North America; Ooencyrtus kuvanae; egg parasitoid; identification; spotted Lanternfly