| Publication Type: | Journal Article |
| Year of Publication: | 1977 |
| Authors: | Aeschlimann, J. |
| Journal: | Entomophaga |
| Volume: | 22 |
| Pagination: | 111-114. |
| Abstract: | During surveys in the Mediterranean region to search for natural enemies of Sitona spp., which are important pests of lucerne and other species of Medicago, considerable numbers of mymarids were reared from eggs of Sitona recovered from soil samples taken in France, Italy, Greece and to a lesser extent in those from Spain; no mymarids were obtained from eggs of Sitona from Morocco, Algeria or Tunisia. The most abundant of the mymarids was Patasson lameerei (Debauche) and its biology and habits are discussed. In central Europe, adults of this parasite are recorded from May to September, but in the Montpellier region of southern France the larvae aestivate within the host eggs during the summer. This ability to adjust to local conditions suggests that it might adapt well to those of southern Australia, where it is being introduced. Other mymarids reared included Anaphes pratensis Forst., which was parasitising eggs of S. humeralis Steph. and Hypera sp. in lucerne crops in southern France, and P. heterotomus Mathot, which was reared from eggs of S. humeralis and Hypera sp. beneath lucerne and other Medicago spp. in southern France and northern Greece. |