Corn, as a crucial staple food crop, has historically faced significant challenges from a variety of pests, particularly those belonging to Lepidoptera order. The parasitoid Cotesia ruficrus has demonstrated efficacy in controlling certain Lepidoptera pests. This study aimed to elucidate the parasitism preference and fitness outcomes of C. ruficrus across four prominent noctuid pests: Spodoptera frugiperda, Mythinma separata, Helicoverpa armigera, and Spodoptera litura. The results showed that C. ruficrus exhibited a preference for the four herbivore species as follows: M. separata > S. frugiperda/H. armigera > S. litura. While C. ruficrus could successfully complete its life cycle within the bodies of M. separata and S. frugiperda, the same was not feasible with H. armigera and S. litura as hosts. Moreover, the number of offspring produced by C. ruficrus per host was significantly higher when parasitizing M. separata compared to S. frugiperda. However, the mature egg count in the ovaries and adult body size of C. ruficrus were notably smaller when utilizing M. separata as a host. In summary, the study revealed that C. ruficrus displays a preference for parasitizing M. separata among the four herbivores, yielding improved offspring numbers and performance. These findings provide valuable insights for the biological control of the studied pests and contribute to enhancing the propagation techniques of C. ruficrus.

中文翻译：

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4种夜蛾害虫对红鲈Cotesia ruficrus偏好和子代适应性的影响


玉米作为一种重要的主粮作物，历来面临来自各种害虫的重大挑战，尤其是那些属于鳞翅目害虫的害虫。寄生 Cotesia ruficrus 已被证明在控制某些鳞翅目害虫方面有效。本研究旨在阐明红菜夜蛾在四种主要夜虫中的寄生偏好和适应性结果：草地贪夜蛾、Mythinma separata、Helicoverpa armigera 和 Spodoptera litura。结果表明，C. ruficrus 表现出对 4 种食草动物的偏好，具体如下： M. separata > S. frugiperda/H. armigera > S. litura.虽然 C. ruficrus 可以在 M. separata 和 S. frugiperda 体内成功完成其生命周期，但以 H. armigera 和 S. litura 作为宿主则不可行。此外，与草地贪夜蛾相比，寄生 M. separata 时，C. ruficrus 每个宿主产生的后代数量显着更高。然而，当使用 M. separata 作为宿主时，C. ruficrus 卵巢中的成熟卵数和成年体型明显较小。总之，该研究表明，C. ruficrus 在四种食草动物中表现出对寄生 M. separata 的偏好，从而产生更好的后代数量和性能。这些发现为所研究害虫的生物防治提供了有价值的见解，并有助于提高 C. ruficrus 的繁殖技术。