Editorial Type:
Article Category: Research Article
| Online Publication Date: 01 Jul 2005
Confinement-Tray Background Color Affects Parasitism Rates of Attacking Pseudacteon curvatus (Diptera: Phoridae) in a Laboratory Rearing System
Confinement-Tray Background Color Affects Parasitism Rates of Attacking Pseudacteon curvatus (Diptera: Phoridae) in a Laboratory Rearing System
and
Page Range: 263 – 267
Distribution of the phorid fly (Pseudacteon curvatus Borgmeier), a natural parasitoid of imported fire ants (Solenopsis spp.), was tested in a laboratory rearing system to evaluate differences in phorid fly production based on tray background color. Significantly (P =0.02) higher rates of parasitism were observed for ants confined within a tray with darker background colors (olive drab, brown or ruddy brown) than for ants confined within a brighter white background tray. This study identifies a factor that may be influencing production levels in a phorid rearing system.
Keywords: phorid; rearing; imported fire ant;
Solenopsis invicta X richteri; visual cues
Copyright: © 2005 Georgia Entomological Society, Inc.
Contributor Notes
2Corresponding author present address: Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, P. O. Box 5207, Mississippi State, MS 39762, USA; E-mail address: LarryT@mdac.state.ms.us.
Received: 22 Nov 2004
Accepted: 15 Jan 2005