| Summary: | Background: Ceratitis capitata (Wied.), the Mediterranean fruit fly, is one of the key pest
species affecting citrus production around the Mediterranean coasts of Spain, Morocco and
Tunisia. During the past decade the IVIA (Valencian Institute for Agricultural Research) has
imported several parasitoid species to enhance a Biological Control (BC) program against this
pest. Soon after the introduction of Diachasmimorpha longicaudata (Ashmead) in 2009, a
native parasitoid, the figitid Aganaspis daci (Weld), was identified in Bétera, a town in the
province of Valencia. This work will contribute to highlight the importance of the two species
within the BC program against C. capitata in the study areas.
Methods: To determine the influence of climatic factors on parasitism rate and Medfly
mortality, apples artificially infested with Medfly larvae were individually exposed to five
parasitoid couples for one week under natural conditions. Forty wood-framed mesh cages
(twenty for each parasitism rate and immature development) of each parasitoid species were
tested weekly over 10 weeks across one year.
Results: Under Mediterranean climatic conditions, D. longicaudata exerted a high parasitism
rate compared with A. daci. Extreme winter and summer temperatures seem to affect the
immature development of both species. A higher immature mortality was observed for A. daci
throughout the year, compared with D. longicaudata. Adult parasitoid species were capable of
parasitizing C. capitata L2/L3 larvae at the extreme temperatures tested.
Conclusions: This study suggests that A. daci shows a good performance as well as D.
longicaudata against C. capitata under Mediterranean climatic conditions. Further studies are
required to determine the influence of other climatic factors and whether the two parasitoid
species act in synergism.
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