Monoclonal antibodies specific for Laelius pedatus (bethylidae) and Bracon hebetor (braconidae), two hymenopterous parasitoids of stored-product pests

Abstract Before parasitoids and predators are fully endorsed as biological control agents in storage facilities, a reliable technique must be developed to determine how much they contribute to the overall insect contamination of stored commodities. Because determining the origin of insect fragments by visual examination is difficult, labor-intensive, and requires special skills, we propose using immunological techniques to differentiate among insect species biochemically. In the example presented here, we generated monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against the parasitic wasps Laelius pedatus (Say) and Bracon hebetor Say. The MAbs reacted with all life stages and both sexes of the parasitoids. In Western blots of acrylamide and agarose gels, the MAbs recognized high molecular weight proteins (>500 kDa) composed of multiple subunits, with mildly acidic to neutral isoelectric focusing points. The MAbs did not cross-react with the additional 22 insect species we tested in an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. These data suggest that MAb-based immunoassays could be used to differentiate among beneficial and destructive insects found in stored products.