Animal husbandry – Entomological culture device – Egg treatment – production – or storage
Patent
1981-03-06
1983-02-01
Chamblee, Hugh R.
Animal husbandry
Entomological culture device
Egg treatment, production, or storage
119 15, A01K 6700
Patent
active
043709460
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method for conditioning and preserving eggs of insect oophage parasites. In the field of agriculture, more particularly that of the protection of plants against damaging insects, by the biological route, it is known to resort to oophage parasites of the Trichogramma genus in the control of pests. For these pests, the method of control consists of mass-producing Trichogramma from eggs of a user host, generally selected from among Lepidoptera of food products, then of transferring these eggs, once parasitised, into the fields where they give birth to adult Trichogramma which parasite the eggs of the pests to be destroyed.
PRIOR ART
One of the limits in this method of biological control resides in the difficulty of storing the daily production of the Entomophage and of preserving it. In addition, it is known that the Trichogramma have in nature a hibernal arrest in development in their host eggs which permits them to pass several months in the state of suspended animation, either by simple quiescence, or by diapause. Certain authors such as ZORIN (1927) and TELENGA (1954-1956) have shown besides that it was necessary, for maintaining all the biotic potentialities of the parasite, to put it into the diapause state.
However, inspite of studies devoted to the diapause of the Trichogramma (see the works of TELENGA 1956, MASLENNEKOVA - TSYBUS'SKAYA - KAPUSTINA 1974), it is not possible at the present time (see in particular the works of CHERKASOV of 1976) to preserve Trichogramma in Winter which would remain active in the Spring. The studies of CHERKASOV have however enabled a method of preserving Trichogramma to be contemplated which proceeds in the following manner: one day's eggs of Noctuella Hadena sordida or of Aleucita of Sitotroga cerealella cereals were parasitised in the proportion of one parasite per 5 eggs at 23.degree.-25.degree. C., 70-80% relative humidity and a photoperiod of 16 hours for 3 days. These eggs were then placed at 10.degree. C. with a photoperiod of 12 hours and a relative humidity of 70-80% until darkening of the eggs. At this stage, these eggs were preserved at 3.degree. C. and at a relative humidity of 70-80%. This method enables, after 250 days of preservation, the obtaining of 36 to 48% of emergence of parasites. The fertility of the latter is reduced, in the neighbourhood of 20 eggs per female and the "sex-ratio" is in the favour of the males. The drawbacks of this production method for Trichogramma with reduced fertility, with a high percentage of males and of brachiptera with longevity reduced to two or three days, do not permit the use of such Trichogramma for release in the fields.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome these drawbacks and to provide a method of conditioning and preserving Trichogramma by cold, so that it is possible at any moment, from batches of these Entomophages stored from 3 to 12 months, to take specimens of parasitised eggs which give a hatching ratio, a fertility, a longevity, a percentage of winged individuals and a sex-ratio little different from those of unstored individuals.
Two variations of the method according to the invention enable respectively the obtaining of long storage, that is to say from 3 to 12 months, and short storage, that is to say up to about 45 days.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The method according to the invention is essentially characterised by the fact that starting from eggs of Lepidoptera of food products, in particular from Ephestia Kuhniella, which have undergone a prior conditioning, these eggs are parasitised by Trichogramma adults, the so-parasitised eggs are subjected to an incubation period of at least 24 hours at 20.degree. C., with a photoperiod of 8 hours of light and 16 hours of darkness and a relative humidity of 70 to 80%, that the eggs so-incubated are subjected to an induction period of about 6 to 80 days, at a temperature below 15.degree. C., with a photoperiod of 8 hours of light and 16 h of darkness, and a relative
REFERENCES:
patent: 3893420 (1975-07-01), Andreev et al.
patent: 3941089 (1976-03-01), Andreev et al.
Jourdheuil Pierre E. J.
Pintureau Bernard C. J.
Pizzol nee Dalmasso Jeannine M.
Voegele Jean D.
Chamblee Hugh R.
Flocks Karl W.
Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - UNRA
Neimark Sheridan
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