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Longevity and Parasitism Capacity of Psyttalia concolor (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) Fed on Sugar Solutions and Insect Honeydew

Publicated to:Agronomy-Basel. 12 (10): - 2022-01-01 12(10), DOI: 10.3390/agronomy12102401

Authors: Pinheiro LA; Pereira JA; Medina P; Santos SAP

Affiliations

Inst Politecn Braganca, Lab Associado Para Sustentabilidade & Tecnol Regi, Campus Santa Apolonia, P-5300253 Braganca, Portugal - Author
Instituto Politecnico de Braganca - Author
Instituto Politecnico de Braganca , Universidad de León - Author
Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa , Instituto Politécnico de Setúbal - Author
Polytech Inst Braganca, Sch Agr, Mt Res Ctr, Campus Sta Apolonia, P-5300253 Braganca, Portugal - Author
Polytech Inst Setubal, Barreiro Sch Technol, CIQuiBio, Rua Amer Silva Marinho, P-2839001 Lavradio, Portugal - Author
Univ Leon, Sch Agr & Forest Engn EIAF, Avda Portugal, Leon 24071, Spain - Author
Univ Lisbon, LEAF Linking Landscape Environm Agr & Food Res Ct, Inst Super Agron, P-1349017 Lisbon, Portugal - Author
Univ Politecn Madrid, Escuela Tecn Super Ingn Agron Alimentaria & Biosi, Unidad Protecc Cult, Ave Puerta de Hierro 2, Madrid 28040, Spain - Author
Universidad Politécnica de Madrid - Author
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Abstract

Sugars are important food sources required by adult parasitoid species to enhance their survival, fecundity and fitness. The beneficial capacity of Psyttalia concolor Szépligeti, as a biological control agent of different fruit fly pest species, is expected to increase when different sugar food sources are supplied. The objective of this study was to test the effect of seven sugars (glucose, fructose, sucrose, trehalose, melibiose, melezitose and sorbitol) on the longevity and parasitism capacity of P. concolor. Moreover, we evaluated the effect of two types of honeydew excreted by hemipteran pests present in olive trees, Saissetia oleae Olivier (Coccidae) and Euphyllura olivina (Costa) (Psyllidae) on the longevity of the parasitoid. Our results show a positive effect of carbohydrate (single sugars and honeydew) consumption on parasitoid survival. Female longevity increased when fed on sorbitol and melibiose, while males benefited from feeding on glucose and fructose, suggesting that hexose-nectars would benefit males. Sucrose increased the percentage of non-emerged hosts and parasitism rate while melezitose significantly decreased these percentages, compared to the other sugars offered. P. concolor benefited more from feeding on honeydew than on sugars, and this food item can represent an important source of energy for the parasitoid. This result indicates the importance of specific nutrients for promoting the action of P. concolor against pests.

Keywords

aphid honeydewbiological-controlcarbohydratecotesia-glomeratafecundityfood sourcenatural enemiesnectarnutritionnutritional stateolea europaearesourcessurvivalCarbohydrateFecundityNutritionOlea europaeaOlive fruit-flyParasitoidSurvival

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Agronomy-Basel due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2022, it was in position 16/88, thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Agronomy.

Independientemente del impacto esperado determinado por el canal de difusión, es importante destacar el impacto real observado de la propia aportación.

Según las diferentes agencias de indexación, el número de citas acumuladas por esta publicación hasta la fecha 2025-06-10:

  • Scopus: 2
  • OpenCitations: 3

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-06-10:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 9.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 9 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 0.5.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 1 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: Portugal.