Hello Mahamud:

There is a paper by Nazarpour et. al. 2013 about the Efficacy of Augmentative Release of Habrobracon hebetor (Hym. Braconidae) for Biological Control of Helicoverpa armygera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in tomatoe fields in Iran.

Habrobracon hebetor is a valuable biocontrol agent of the larval stage of many important agricultural pests such as the Noctuid and Pyralid moths, including H. armigera. Efficacies of augmentative release of H. hebetor for biological control of H. armygera and the larva parasitism of the pest by H. hebetor in tomato fields were evaluated during the cropping season 2011/2012 in Masjed Soleiman, Khuzestan province, Iran. Numbers of parasite larvae were recorded 1, 4, 9 and 14 days after the release (DAR). In this study, the adult wasps were released at the rate of around 50 adults/m2. The field parasitism percentage was 34.85 and contributed 73% to total larval mortality. Results showed that maximum parasitism was occurred 4 DAR and it declines in 9 and 13 DAR. According the research, H. hebetor could parasites H. armigera till 60% under field condition. It seems that H. hebetor alone is no efficacy potency to control H. armigera and must be integrated with a suitable and bio-pesticide, like Bacillus thuringiensis.

http://www.tropentag.de/2015/abstracts/full/135.pdf

Regards,

Luis Miguel

It is so important for you to do some small and short experiments in the lab in cages and try different rates of the parasitoid and the pest in order to determine the best application rate of the parasitoid: pest ration before releasing it in the field.

Also look at this article:

Article Field dispersal of the parasitoid wasp Habrobracon hebetor (...

and:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIvuUWZRB-c

Dear Luis Miguel Constantino Thanks for your informative reply. Actually, I am little bit confused about the number of Bracon hebetor parasitoid required for 1 Ha area to control Lepidopeteran Caterpillars. In some literature, I found 2000-5000 Bracon is needed per hactare area and in some other literature I found 900-1000 is needed. Could you please suggest me the number of Bracon hebetor needed per hactare area to control TEA LOOPER CATERPILLAR (Biston suppresaria)?

Hello Mahamud:

Before releasing Bracon hebetor in the field, please follow the recomendation of Dr. Firas Al-Zyoud. Do some experiments in the lab to find out the % of parasitism with Biston suppresaria larvae. It is important to evaluate the effectiveness of the parasitoid under the environmental and climatic conditions of your locality to measure the percentage of parasitism. If it is not possible to do these experiments in the laboratory, start by releasing the largest number of parasitoids/ hectarea (2000-5000) and then adjust the amount depending on the efficiency obtained in the field. It is also important to determine the critical control period of Biston before releasing the parasitoids. The most vulnerable stage of the larvae of lepidoptera is when they are in 1st and 2nd stage of development, so that the life cycle of the parasitoid can reach its full development.

It is important to do experiments in lab in cages to determine application rate of Bracon hebetor before you releasing parasitoid in the field

It is important to do experiments in lab in cages to determine application rate of Bracon hebetor before you releasing parasitoid in the field

regards