Vol. 90, No. 1, February 1979 17 BLACKLIGHT TRAP COLLECTING OF PARASITIC HYMENOPTERA 1 . 2 3 4 Paul P. Burbutis , James A. Stewart ABSTRACT: Many species and large numbers of parasitic Hymenoptera were captured in a 15-watt, standard insect survey blacklight trap. It appears that routine trapping of these parasitoids by this method can be used to determine species composition, and their relative abundance and seasonal distribution. This common survey technique, in wide-spread use for pest species, may hold considerable promise for biological control specialists and in integrated pest management programs. Radiant energy in the form of blacklight (ultraviolet = 320 -280 nanom-eters) is used extensively for insect detection, routine survey and pest management programs. The usefulness of blacklight traps in integrated pest management (IPM), especially for determining the seasonal distribution and abundance of economic species, is widely recognized. Much of the informa-tion on insect light trapping is consolidated and treated in depth by Hienton (1974) however no attention is given to the beneficial insects which are strongly attracted to these same sources. Tests by Weiss et al. (1941, 1942, 1943) show that parasitic Hymenoptera are very specific in their response to blacklight. Frost (1964, 1966, 1969) trapped insects during the winters of 1958 -1963 in Florida and he lists ca. 80 species of parasitic Hymenoptera collected in this manner. A few other reports either cite unusual collections or the occasional capture of a large-size species of Ichneumonidae. From ca. 900 papers dealing with light trapping of insects less than 30 mention parasitic Hymenoptera as being captured in light traps. In most cases the lack of reference to parasitoids does not mean these forms are absent in trap collections but most likely that they are disregarded or overlooked because of their small size. The results of preliminary studies in 1968 and 1969, at the USDA Benefi-cial Insects Laboratory in Moorestown, N.J., suggested that blacklight trap-ping may provide a mechanism for determining seasonal distribution and rela-tive abundance of parasitoids. Such data could be very useful in biological 1 Received September IS, 1978. 2 Published as Misc. Paper No. 829 with the approval of the Director of the Delaware Agricultural Experiment Station. Publication No. 454 of the Department of Entomology and Applied Ecology. Professor, Univ. of Del., Newark. 4 Formerly Biologist, USDA, ARS, Moorestown, N.J. ENT. NEWS 90 (1) 17-22. February 1979
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