Studies were performed to assess the operational feasibility of Trichogramma exiguum Pinto and Platner augmentation for suppression of the Nantucket pine tip moth, Rhyacionia frustrana (Comstock), in North Carolina pine plantations. Inundative releases of encapsulated T. exiguum were made into 4 ha plots during the second R. frustrana generation in 2000. Augmentation reduced damage significantly, but not below acceptable levels. Quality control data suggest that high predation levels lowered T. exiguum efficacy. The effect of capsule distribution and microclimate on parasitoid predation and emergence was also investigated. Uniformly distributed capsules experienced significantly higher predation levels than clustered capsules. Microhabitat significantly impacted microclimate and T. exiguum emergence, with emergence declining in response to increasing number of consecutive hours per day above 35ºC.
Species 1: Hymenoptera Trichogrammatidae Trichogramma exiguum
Species 2: Lepidoptera Tortricidae Rhyacionia frustrana (Nantucket pine tip moth)
Species 3: Pinales Pinaceae Pinus taeda (loblolly pine)
Keywords: augmentation, microclimate
The ESA 2001 Annual Meeting - 2001: An Entomological Odyssey of ESA