Heavy metal concentrations of the endoparasitoid Glyptapanteles liparidis Bouche (Hymenoptera) in contaminated Lymantria dispar L. larvae (Lepidoptera)

• DOI: 10.1007/bf00196032
• Publication Date: 2004-08-27T22:48:06Z
• Authors: C. Bischof
• Keywords: Lymantria dispar; Dispar

The braconid wasp Glyptapanteles liparidis is one of the main parasitoids of the forest pest insect Lymantria dispar (gypsy moth) and therefore a regulator of the pest population. The eggs of the endoparasitoid are deposited in early larval stages of the host. The parasitoid larvae develop in the haemolymph of the host and feed exclusively on the nutrients of the haemolymph. Applied metals at the No-observed-effect-concentration level for L. dispar did not affect G. liparidis directly. Instead the parasitoid development is probably influenced by the alteration of the trophic situations within the host due to its metal stress. This study provides information on the metal concentration of the parasitoid larvae shortly before their eclosion from the host. 19 refs., 1 fig., 1 tab.