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Parasitism of Corn Earworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), by Tachinid Flies in Cultivated Hemp
Insects
  • Armando Falcon-Brindis
  • John O. Stireman, III, Wright State University - Main Campus
  • Zenaida J. Viloria
  • Raul T. Villanueva
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
6-3-2022
Identifier/URL
113966584 (Orcid)
Abstract

In a survey on hemp grown in western Kentucky we found an average of 27.8 CEW larvae per plant. We recorded 45% parasitism of CEW in these fields by two species of tachinid flies, Winthemia rufopicta and Lespesia aletiae. Most parasitized larvae were third to sixth instars at the time of collection. We found up to 22 tachinid eggs per host larva, 89% of which typically bore between 1 and 5 eggs on the thorax. 45.9% of CEW bearing eggs died. The number of tachinid eggs per host was unrelated to host body mass, but both the number of tachinid eggs and caterpillar body mass influenced CEW survival. Larger CEW often survived parasitism and the number of fly eggs was negatively related to survival rate. The emergence of adult flies was positively correlated with the number of eggs, but no influence of the host size was found. High mortality of CEW larvae and the parasitoids developing within them in this system suggests that secondary chemicals (or poor nutrition) of the hemp diet may be negatively affecting host and parasitoid development and influencing their interactions.

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Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
DOI
10.3390/insects13060519
Citation Information
Armando Falcon-Brindis, John O. Stireman, Zenaida J. Viloria and Raul T. Villanueva. "Parasitism of Corn Earworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), by Tachinid Flies in Cultivated Hemp" Insects Vol. 13 Iss. 6 (2022) ISSN: 2075-4450
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/john_stireman/103/