Version 1
: Received: 18 September 2024 / Approved: 18 September 2024 / Online: 18 September 2024 (13:57:26 CEST)
How to cite:
Hougardy, E.; Haff, R. P.; Hogg, B. N. Improving the Efficiency and Safety of Sentinel Stink Bug Eggs Using X-Rays. Preprints2024, 2024091426. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.1426.v1
Hougardy, E.; Haff, R. P.; Hogg, B. N. Improving the Efficiency and Safety of Sentinel Stink Bug Eggs Using X-Rays. Preprints 2024, 2024091426. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.1426.v1
Hougardy, E.; Haff, R. P.; Hogg, B. N. Improving the Efficiency and Safety of Sentinel Stink Bug Eggs Using X-Rays. Preprints2024, 2024091426. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.1426.v1
APA Style
Hougardy, E., Haff, R. P., & Hogg, B. N. (2024). Improving the Efficiency and Safety of Sentinel Stink Bug Eggs Using X-Rays. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.1426.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Hougardy, E., Ronald P. Haff and Brian N. Hogg. 2024 "Improving the Efficiency and Safety of Sentinel Stink Bug Eggs Using X-Rays" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.1426.v1
Abstract
Sentinel eggs used to monitor field parasitism of stink bug pests (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) can only be deployed for a few days to avoid releasing the pest in the monitored area. Using sterile eggs removes the risk of accidental pest introduction and extends deployment time. Freezing the eggs before deployment is one common method for sterilizing sentinel eggs. However, some egg parasitoid species have lower to no parasitism on frozen eggs. In this study, x-ray irradiation was used to sterilize Bagrada hilaris sentinel eggs intended for monitoring parasitism by Gryon aetherium (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae), the most promising biological control candidate. In this case, freezing sentinel eggs is not recommended because G. aetherium has low levels of parasitism on frozen eggs. Doses as low as 10 Gy induced 100% sterility. Irradiated eggs successfully sustained the development of G. aetherium and Ooencyrtus californicus (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), another egg parasitoid attacking B. hilaris, and parasitism levels were comparable to fresh eggs up to seven days. In addition, G. aetherium showed no preference for fresh non-irradiated over seven-day-old irradiated eggs. Our results indicate that x-ray irradiation is a suitable alternative to produce safe and reliable sentinel eggs to monitor egg parasitism of B. hilaris and possibly other species.
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
