Data from: Host specificity of Aphelinus species considered for introduction to control Diuraphis noxia

Diuraphis noxia, the Russian wheat aphid, has become a major pest of wheat and barley since first being detected in the western USA in 1986. However, it is rarely a pest in Eurasia, its area of origin, and research has shown that natural enemies can limit its abundance there. Among the most important of natural enemies of D. noxia in Eurasia are parasitoids in the genus Aphelinus. These data are results of laboratory experiments on host specificity of ten populations of seven species from two species complexes in the genus Aphelinus. Host specificity was not related to host plant species or the phylogenetic relatedness of the aphids or the parasitoids. While some species had very broad host ranges and others had intermediate host ranges, Aphelinus hordei had a very narrow host range, being restricted primarily to species in the genus Diuraphis, and especially D. noxia. We also report the results of experiments on the mechanisms of this host specificity. Most of the host specificity of A. hordei can be explained by differences in the behavior of females when they encountered different aphid species. Females of A. hordei rarely approach, sting, oviposit or host feed on aphids outside the genus Diuraphis, and they oviposit most frequently in D. noxia. From these results, we conclude that A. hordei is an excellent candidate for introduction into the USA to control D. noxia.

Diuraphis noxia，即俄罗斯麦蚜，自1986年首次在美国西部被发现以来，已成为小麦和大麦的主要害虫。然而，在起源于欧亚大陆的该地区，它很少成为害虫，研究显示自然天敌能够限制其种群数量。在欧亚大陆中，D. noxia 的主要自然天敌为属于 Aphelinus 属的寄生蜂。本数据集为实验室实验结果，涉及 Aphelinus 属中两个物种复合体七个物种的十个种群对宿主的专一性研究。宿主的专一性与宿主植物种类或蚜虫及其寄生蜂的进化亲缘关系无关。虽然某些物种具有非常广泛的主宿范围，而另一些则具有中等的主宿范围，但 Aphelinus hordei 的主宿范围极为狭窄，主要限于 Diuraphis 属的物种，尤其是 D. noxia。此外，我们还报告了关于这种专一性机制的研究结果。A. hordei 的宿主专一性大部分可以归因于雌性在不同蚜虫物种遇到时的行为差异。A. hordei 的雌性很少接近、刺伤、产卵或在外部 Diuraphis 属的蚜虫上取食宿主，且其产卵频率最高在 D. noxia 上。基于这些结果，我们得出结论，A. hordei 是一个极好的候选物种，可以引入美国以控制 D. noxia。