Pupal parasitoids of Yponomeuta malinellus (Lepidoptera: Yponomeutidae) in northeast Asia.

ABSTRACT Pupal parasitism of the apple ermine moth, Yponomeuta malinellus Zeller (Lepidoptera: Yponomeutidae), was investigated in northeast Asia with the goal of identifying potential biological controls of the moth, which threatened the apple industry in Washington State, USA during the 1980s. Seven primary and 2 secondary parasitoids were recorded from 27, 472 pupae collected and reared from a total of 20 collections at 16 sites in Korea, northern Honshu and Hokkaido Islands in Japan, and Shanxi Province in China during a 4-year period from 1988 to 1991. The mean total parasitism rate was highest in Korea (38.5%), while the lowest rate of 2.1% was recorded from Shanxi, China. The mean total parasitism rate detected from Hokkaido and Honshu Islands in Japan was 17.2 and 10.1%, respectively. The ichnueumonid wasp Herpestomus brunnicornis Gravenhorst dominated the parasitism in Korea and Japan, while Coccygomimus disparis (Viereck) was responsible for most mortality of the moth pupae in Shanxi, China. Dia...