2nd Place: Interactions among diet density and resource levels for Drosophila suzukii and its associated larval parasitoids

Monday, November 14, 2022

8:36 AM – 8:48 AM PT

Location: Vancouver Convention Centre, Meeting Room 302/303

Presenting Author(s)

GW

Grace Wang

Undergraduate Student
The University of British Columbia
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Co-Author(s)

Warren Hung Leuk Wong

Graduate Student
The University of British Columbia
Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
JM

Joshua M. Milnes

Entomologist
Washington State Department of Agriculture
Yakima, Washington
Judith M. Stahl

Postdoctoral Researcher
University of California
Parlier, California
KD

Kent Daane

Professor of Cooperative Extension
University of California
Parlier, California
JC

Juli Carrillo

Assistant Professor
The University of British Columbia
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Drosophila suzukii, also known as spotted-wing drosophila, feeds on numerous cultivated and wild fruits in British Columbia. Current management strategies for D. suzukii rely heavily on regular application of broad-spectrum insecticides, necessitating additional control methods for sustainable management. Candidate biological control agents include Leptopilina japonica and Ganaspis brasiliensis, both introduced within British Columbia and specialised on D. suzukii. Previous studies have shown that penetration force determines some D. suzukii host fruit selection, with preferences across different host plants dependent on fruit ripeness and fruit tissue density. Fruit tissue density can also influence parasitoids' fitness as oviposition success depends on their ability to probe with their ovipositors through fruit to locate larvae. We explored the optimal conditions and fitness effects on both D. suzuki larvae and their associated larval parasitoids using a novel plant based diet at different agar, resource and antimicrobial concentrations. These findings may benefit future research for laboratory or mass rearing of D. suzukii and its associated larval parasitoids.