-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask]
To: undisclosed-recipients
Sent: 8/19/2002 8:22 AM
Subject: Catch The Buzz Article


We're probably not going to sell tons of honey for this purpose, but the
PR can't be beat.
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Honey Helps Fight Flys



Feeding honey to a parasitic wasp from Brazil helps it attack pest flies
in the United States more vigorously, Agricultural Research Service
scientists and cooperators report.

ARS scientists at the Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary
Entomology in Gainesville, Fla., and cooperators at the University of
Campinas in Brazil are evaluating the Brazilian wasp as part of an
effort to screen exotic wasp species from that country that may be
biocontrol candidates against flies in the United States.

Certain parasitic wasps native to the United States are now used to
control houseflies and stable flies, which are nuisances on livestock
and poultry farms and transport disease-causing organisms, according to
entomologist Christopher J. Geden at the ARS lab in Gainesville. The
parasitic wasps reduce insecticide use while saving farmers time and
money. Farmers can buy native parasitic wasps from commercial
insectaries.

But the effectiveness of native parasitic wasps is limited, because they
will only feed on and lay their eggs inside fly pupae. One foreign wasp
species being evaluated (Tachinaephagus zealandicus) attacks flies in
the earlier larval stage. Used together, the native and parasitic wasps
could attack flies in their larval and pupal stages, resulting in more
effective fly control.

Unlike native wasps, however, foreign wasps do not derive energy from
their hosts, according to Geden. So they need an energy boost. The
researchers found that feeding the wasps honey tripled their attack rate
on target flies and increased the amount of progeny developing in flies.

The Gainesville and Brazilian researchers also discovered that honey
treated with the antibiotic rifampicin helps T. zealandicus ward off a
debilitating new disease transmitted from females to their offspring.
Infected wasps take longer to develop into adults and lay substantially
more male eggs--a real barrier for rearing wasps for biological control.





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Kim Flottum
Editor, Bee Culture Magazine
http://www.airoot.com/beeculture/index.htm

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