Host range and multitrophic interactions between the parasitoid Cotesia vanessae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) and Noctuidae (Lepidoptera) hosts in North America

dc.contributor.authorHervet, Vincent Alain Daniel
dc.contributor.authorUniversity of Lethbridge. Faculty of Arts and Science
dc.contributor.supervisorLaird, Robert A.
dc.contributor.supervisorFloate, Kevin D.
dc.date.accessioned2017-02-14T17:52:06Z
dc.date.available2017-02-14T17:52:06Z
dc.date.issued2017
dc.degree.levelPh.Den_US
dc.description.abstractCaterpillars in the family Noctuidae are important crop pests. After discovering the parasitoid Cotesia vanessae in the Nearctic region, which was previously only known from the Palearctic and Afrotropic regions, I investigated its fundamental host range on North American Lepidoptera and found that it could parasitize a large number of species of Noctuidae. Its fitness varied among host species, and Plusiinae species appeared to be the best hosts. Nearly all hosts in this experiment were reared on McMorran diet, which appeared to have varying suitability among Lepidoptera species. Through a second experiment, I showed that the fitness of the parasitoid and that of its host varied according to host food quality. Thus, parasitoid fitness on different hosts is partly conditioned by diet quality. This study shows that C. vanessae can parasitize a large number of Noctuidae and can be easily mass-reared, which could make it an ideal biological control agent.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipAlberta Conservation Association (Grants in Biodiversity) and Canola Council of Canada (Canola Agronomic Research Program)en_US
dc.embargoNoen_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/handle/10133/4777
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.proquest.subject0353en_US
dc.proquest.subject0718en_US
dc.proquest.subject0433en_US
dc.proquestyesYesen_US
dc.publisherLethbridge, Alta : University of Lethbridge, Dept. of Biological Sciencesen_US
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Biological Sciencesen_US
dc.publisher.facultyArts and Scienceen_US
dc.relation.ispartofseriesThesis (University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Arts and Science)en_US
dc.subjectbiological control agentsen_US
dc.subjectbraconid waspsen_US
dc.subjectcutwormsen_US
dc.subjecthost fitnessen_US
dc.subjectparasitoid fitnessen_US
dc.subjectparasitoidsen_US
dc.titleHost range and multitrophic interactions between the parasitoid Cotesia vanessae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) and Noctuidae (Lepidoptera) hosts in North Americaen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
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