To assess the potential of Asobara japonica Belokobylskij (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) as a biological control agent for the invasive Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) (Diptera: Drosophilidae), key biological traits were evaluated: preference and suitability of different host ages, relative performance on two host species (D. suzukii and Drosophila melanogaster Meigen), female life-time fecundity and egg maturation on the two host species, and parasitism levels on D. suzukii larvae infesting different host fruits (blackberry, cherry and strawberry). Asobara japonica preferred young over old hosts, and although host age did not affect offspring survival, parasitoid offspring developed faster in older than younger hosts but had a reduced body size. There was higher A. japonica offspring survival, longer developmental time, and larger body when reared from D. suzukii than D. melanogaster. Female wasps emerged with around one third of their lifetime egg load and matured eggs rapidly with mature egg load reaching a peak 2–3 d post-emergence. Large females (typically reared from D. suzukii) contained more mature eggs than small females (typically from D. melanogaster). During their lifetime, A. japonica females produced 117.4 and 92.5 progeny on D. suzukii and D. melanogaster, respectively, with a corresponding intrinsic rate of increase of 0.217 and 0.210, respectively. Progeny were strongly female-biased (> 90% females), regardless of host age or species. This larval parasitoid was able to develop from D. suzukii infesting cherry, blackberry or strawberry. This information may help improve protocols for the rearing and future evaluations of this parasitoid for a potential biological control program against D. suzukii.

中文翻译：

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评估Asobara japonica作为斑点翼果蝇，果蝇Suzukii的潜在生物防治剂

为了评估Asobara japonica Belokobylskij（膜翅目：Braconidae）作为入侵性铃木果蝇（Matsumura）（Diptera：Drosophilidae）的生物防治剂的潜力，评估了关键的生物学特性：不同寄主年龄的偏好和适应性，两种动物的相对表现寄主物种（铃木D. and Drosophila melanogaster Meigen），两种寄主物种的雌性一生繁殖力和卵成熟度，以及铃木D.幼虫感染不同寄主水果（黑莓，樱桃和草莓）的寄生水平。与日本寄主相比，Asobara japonica更喜欢年轻人，尽管寄主的年龄并不会影响其后代的存活，但比年幼的寄主更寄生的后代的发育速度更快，但体型却减小了。粳稻后代的存活率更高，发育时间更长，从铃木D.饲养时比D. melanogaster更大。雌性黄蜂出现时的卵量约为其一生的三分之一，而成熟卵则迅速成熟，成熟卵量在出苗后2-3天达到峰值。大型雌性（通常是从铃木D.饲养）比小型雌性（通常是D. melanogaster）含有更多的成熟卵。在其一生中，粳稻雌性分别在铃木和黑腹果蝇上产生117.4和92.5的后代，其内在增长率分别为0.217和0.210。后代强烈偏重女性（> 90％女性），与寄主年龄或物种无关。这种幼虫寄生物能够从铃木D.中侵染樱桃，黑莓或草莓而形成。