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The millipede parasitoid Pelidnoptera nigripennis (F.) (Diptera: Sciomyzidae) for the biological control of the millipede Ommatoiulus moreleti (Lucas) (Diplopoda: Julida: Julidae) in Australia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

Peter T. Bailey
Peter T. Bailey
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture, Northfield Research Laboratories, Box 1671 G.P.O., Adelaide, South Australia 5001, Australia
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Abstract

Pelidnoptera nigripennis (F.) is a parasitoid of the millipedes Ommatoiulus spp. in Portugal. It is univoltine. The adults lay eggs on their hosts during the spring in southern Portugal, and the first-instar larva penetrates through the soft tissue of the millipede. The parasitoid spends the summer as a firstinstar larva, kills the host during the autumn when in the third instar and overwinters in the pupal stage. P. nigripennis occurs in habitats of low bushes, but not in open grasslands. The female searches for prey by day. The maximum rate of parasitism recorded in this study was 20%. In laboratory specificity studies, 15 species of millipedes from five families were exposed to P. nigripennis, but only julid millipedes were successfully parasitized. Synchronization of the life-cycle in the laboratory with the seasons of the southern hemisphere was achieved by inducing pupation five months prematurely after cooling to 10°C.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Bulletin of Entomological Research , Volume 79 , Issue 3 , September 1989 , pp. 381 - 391
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1989

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