Olfactory host location and host preference of Holepyris sylvanidis (Brèthes) (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae), a parasitoid of Tribolium confusum Jacquelin du Val and T. castaneum (Herbst) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)

Parasitoids can suppress populations of their host and thus play a primary role in Integrated Pest Management. We studied foraging cues in Holepyris sylvanidis (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae), a larval parasitoid of Tribolium species, in a four-chamber olfactometer. H. sylvanidis is reported as a cosmopolitan parasitoid of Coleopteran including two major pests of stored products, the confused flour beetle Tribolium confusum and the red flour beetle T. castaneum. Our study reveals that the host complexes of both Tribolium species and different living host stages attract naive H. sylvanidis females, whereas no reaction was observed to uninfested substrates. Our findings may contribute to the development of biological control strategies of T. castaneum and T. confusum with parasitoids.