Functional Response and Parasitism rate of Trichogramma galloi Zucchi (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae), a Parasitoid of Eggs of Sugarcane Borer

The evaluation of parameters such as functional response and parasitism rates is essential for the choice and use of a control agent, which contributes to a positive or negative outcome of Biological Control. Diatraea saccharalis (Fabricius, 1794) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), commonly called sugarcane borer, is the main pest of the sugarcane crop and its management can be done by the parasitoid Trichogramma galloi Zucchi, 1988 (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae), which attacks the egg stage of the pest before damage is done to the crop. To better understand this host/parasitoid relationship, the functional response and parasitism rate of T. galloi in 0.4:1 and 1.6:1 (parasitoid:egg) proportions on D. saccharalis eggs were evaluated, the second proportion being carried out in clutch deposited on sugarcane leaves. Trichogramma galloi presented a type II functional response, common among the parasitoids of the Trichogrammatidae family. Although the rate of parasitism on sugarcane borer eggs ranged from 43.36 to 53.77%, there was no significant difference between the evaluated proportions, 0.4:1 and 1.6:1 (parasitoid/egg).