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Pierce's Disease
Research Updates

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What is Pierce's Disease?

Pierce's Disease is a bacterial infection, which is spread by bugs that feed on grapevines, particularly the "glassy winged sharpshooter." Grapevines that become infected with PD can quickly become sick and die.

glassy-winged sharpshooter

NON-TARGET IMPACT OF THE GLASSY-WINGED SHARPSHOOTER PARASITOIDS GONATOCERUS ASHMEADI AND G. FASCIATUS ON SHARPSHOOTERS NATIVE TO CALIFORNIA, WITH NOTES ON INDIGENOUS PARASITOIDS OF THE BLUE-GREEN SHARPSHOOTER AND THE GREEN SHARPSHOOTER

  • Author(s): Boyd, Elizabeth; Hoddle, Mark;
  • Abstract: A rigorous testing strategy involving choice and no-choice test arenas was developed to explore the potential non-target impacts of classical biological control agents. The glassy-winged sharpshooter (GWSS), Homalodisca vitripennis (Germar) (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), biological control program was studied as a model system for analyzing choice and no-choice host preferences for natural enemies and also for performing retrospective non-target impact assessments. Gonatocerus ashmeadi Girault and G. fasciatus Girault (both Hymenoptera: Mymaridae), egg parasitoids of the exotic GWSS, were tested against three potential non-target sharpshooters indigenous to southern California. Work conducted here showed that the solitary G. ashmeadi was able to successfully parasitize eggs (i.e., viable progeny resulted) of smoketree sharpshooter (STSS), H. liturata Ball, but not eggs of the blue-green sharpshooter (BGSS), Graphocephala atropunctata (Signoret), or the green sharpshooter (GSS), Draeculacephala minerva Ball (all Hemiptera: Cicadellidae). G.ashmeadi exercises no parasitization preference when presented with a choice of STSS and GWSS eggs simultaneously. The gregarious G. fasciatus parasitized eggs of STSS and GSS, but not eggs of the BGSS. BGSS and GSS eggs were collected from the field and reared to catalog their indigenous egg parasitoid fauna. Any parasitoids reared from these eggs were reciprocally exposed to clean lab colony eggs. Two parasitoids, G. latipennis Girault and a Polynema sp. (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae) were confirmed as parasitoids of BGSS eggs. Three parasitoids, G. mexicanus Perkins and two unidentified trichogrammatids were confirmed as parasitoids of GSS eggs.
  • Publication Date: Nov 2006
  • Journal: 2006 Pierce's Disease Research Symposium

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