Effects of entomopoxvirus infection in Pseudaletia separata (Lepidoptera :Noctuidae) on the development of a pupal parasitoid, Brachymeria lasus (Hymenoptera : Chalcididae)

The effects of entomopoxvirus infection in Pseudaletia separata on the deve lopment of a pupal parasitoid, Brachymeria lasus, were investigated under l aboratory conditions, Surviving fifth-stadium P. separata larvae infected w ith the P. separata entomopoxvirus (PsEPV) exhibited extended developmental time in the prepupal phase after molting to the last stage. Although about half of the PsEPV-infected larvae pupated, greater than half of those pupa e were incompletely pigmented in the first abdominal segment and failed to develop into adults. Infection of P. separata pupae with PsEPV was detrimen tal and adversely affected the development of B. lasus. Parasitoid emergenc e was inversely related to prepupal duration. Significantly fewer parasitoi ds emerged from PsEPV-infected pupae, and these parasitoids spent an additi onal day or two in pupae with a longer prepupal phase. This lower rate of s urvival was due to a large number of parasitoid images having died in the P sEPV-infected pupae, which was a function of prepupal duration. There was l ittle or no growth in parasitoids developing in PsEPV-infected pupae with a longer prepupal phase.