A device and method for measuring growth and development indicators of whitefly parasitic wasps using living plants

Abstract

The present invention relates to a device and a method for using living plants to measure the growth and development index of whitefly parasitic wasps, the device comprising a parasitic device and a cultivation device; the parasitic device of the present invention comprises an upper parasitic dish and a lower parasitic dish, the opening surfaces of the upper and lower parasitic dishes are arranged opposite to each other, sponge pads are arranged at the joints, and a space for parasitic wasps to parasitize is formed; three vents are arranged on the sides of the upper and lower parasitic dishes, and an insect receiving port is arranged at one end of the upper parasitic dish near the bayonet, which is connected to an insect receiving tube; the cultivation device is a disc with a lid, a circular opening is provided in the center of the lid, and a gauze is laid in the circular opening. The present invention uses living plants to observe the growth and development of whitefly parasitic wasps, which is closer to the natural environment and the measured data is more accurate.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of insect breeding, and in particular relates to a device for measuring growth and development indicators of whitefly parasitic wasps by using living plants. Background Art

[0002] Whiteflies, belonging to the order Hemiptera and the family Aleyrodidae, are a type of tiny, herbivorous insects in agriculture that cause serious damage. Whiteflies mainly harm host plants directly by sucking the phloem sap of plants through thorns as adults and nymphs. They can also secrete honeydew, induce the occurrence of fungal diseases, and contaminate plants. At the same time, whiteflies are important vectors of many viral diseases. For example, Bemisia tabaci can spread a variety of viruses such as geminiviruses, causing the prevalence of viral diseases in host plants. As an important economic pest, Bemisia tabaci is one of the main pests of tropical and subtropical protected areas and field crops. It is very easy to break out after invading, and it is difficult to stop its expansion trend. It has attracted great attention from scholars all over the world. Common whitefly pests in my country include: Bemisia tabaci MED cryptic species (Q-type whitefly) and Bemisia tabaci MEAM1 cryptic species (B-type whitefly). The MED cryptic species of Bemisia tabaci, also known as the silver leaf whitefly, is the dominant species that has invaded my country among the 24 biotypes of Bemisia tabaci that have been reported. It poses the greatest threat to production and has the strongest ability to transmit viruses. It has become an important pest in the production of crops such as cotton, vegetables and flowers in my country, and is also the main cause of the spread of tomato yellow leaf curl virus. The MEAM1 cryptic species of Bemisia tabaci has spread around the world due to its advantages such as large egg-laying capacity and strong tolerance to extreme temperatures and multiple pesticides. The MEAM1 cryptic species of Bemisia tabaci was first discovered in my country in 2003. In just a few years, it has expanded rapidly in my country, and its distribution range has expanded to at least 16 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, and has a trend of gradually replacing the MED cryptic species.

[0003] The parasitic natural enemies of whitefly pests are numerous and rich in resources. At present, more than 50 species of whitefly parasitic wasps have been reported at home and abroad, of which 35 belong to the genus Encarsia of the family Aphelinidae, 15 belong to the genus Eretmocerus, 3 belong to the genus Amitus, 2 belong to the genus Signiphora, and 1 belongs to the genus Metaphycus. The number of parasitic wasps is increasing. The parasitic wasp resources of whiteflies in my country are relatively rich. There are 27 parasitic wasps reported to parasitize Bemisia whiteflies, accounting for more than half of the global species, of which 21 belong to the genus Encarsia and 6 belong to the genus Metaphycus. Among the many types of parasitic natural enemies of tobacco whiteflies, Encarsia formasa is an important parasitic wasp in the genus Encarsia. It is a specialized parasitic natural enemy of whiteflies. It has been used to control greenhouse whiteflies (Trialeurodes vaporariorum) since 1927, and has achieved considerable results. my country introduced this bee from the UK in 1978, and has conducted research on its biotype characteristics and breeding techniques. Encarsia formasa can parasitize whitefly nymphs from 1 to 4 instars, mainly 3 instar nymphs. At normal temperature, a single female lays more than 90 eggs, and the emergence rate is as high as 98.4%. The control effect of Encarsia formasa on tobacco whiteflies can reach more than 60%; in addition to laying eggs and parasitizing, Encarsia formasa can also feed on the body fluids of nymphs. The whitefly nymphs that have been fed will slowly die. On average, each adult bee can feed on 20 nymphs. There have been many reports at home and abroad on the parasitic relationship between the entomology wasp and Bemisia whitefly and the control effect, which proves that the entomology wasp has good control ability against Bemisia whitefly.

[0004] The growth and development of parasitic wasps include a series of indicators such as the developmental period of each stage of parasitic wasps, the parasitism rate of adults, and the emergence rate. Studying the growth and development of parasitic wasps is a prerequisite for studying the biological characteristics of parasitic wasps and their pest control ability, and can lay the foundation for the actual field application of parasitic wasps. However, there is currently no unified method for measuring the growth and development indicators of parasitic wasps, nor is there a device that can comprehensively measure the growth and development indicators of whitefly parasitic wasps. There are differences in the devices and methods used by different researchers to measure the growth and development of whitefly parasitic wasps, and the research results also have different degrees of errors. For example, Wang Juan et al. (2019) measured the growth and development of the aphid wasp after parasitizing B-type whiteflies and found that the development days from the egg to the pupal stage of the aphid wasp was 7.14 days, while Chen Qian et al. (2003) measured the growth and development of the aphid wasp after parasitizing B-type whiteflies and found that the development days from the egg to the pupal stage of the aphid wasp was 14.37 days, and the experimental results differed by nearly twice. Researchers from different places often find differences in the growth and development of the same whitefly parasitoids in the laboratory, which is usually believed to be caused by differences in geographical populations. However, in fact, most researchers ignore the errors caused by experimental devices and methods. Therefore, using unified experimental devices and methods to measure various indicators of whitefly parasitoid growth and development is conducive to reducing experimental errors and laying a solid foundation for research on the control effect of whitefly parasitoids and field applications. Summary of the invention

[0005] In view of the shortcomings of the prior art, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a device for measuring the growth and development indicators of whitefly parasitoids using living plants. The device solves the problem of experimental errors caused by the differences in devices and methods used by researchers in various places when measuring the growth and development indicators of whitefly parasitoids. At the same time, the device uses living plants to measure the growth and development of whitefly parasitoids, and the measurement results are more reliable and the measurement parameters are more comprehensive.

[0006] The present invention is implemented by the following technical solution.

[0007] A device for measuring growth and development indicators of whitefly parasitic wasps using living plants, the device comprising a parasitism device and a cultivation device; the parasitism device comprises an upper parasitic dish and a lower parasitic dish, the opening surfaces of the upper and lower parasitic dishes are arranged opposite to each other and closed to form a space for parasitic wasps to parasitize; the upper parasitic dish and the lower parasitic dish are fixedly connected at one end by a hinge and connected at the other end by a buckle; ventilation holes are respectively arranged on both sides of the upper and lower parasitic dishes; an insect receiving port is arranged at the top of the upper parasitic dish near one end of the buckle and connected to an insect receiving tube.

[0008] Furthermore, the culture device of the present invention is a disc with a lid, which contains 20% agar by mass, and a circular opening is provided in the center of the lid, in which a gauze is laid. The purpose of placing agar is to ensure the humidity of the leaves of the host plant and the humidity requirement for the growth and development of the whitefly nymphs; the purpose of the gauze laid in the center of the lid is ventilation.

[0009] Furthermore, the upper parasitic dish and the lower parasitic dish of the present invention are polystyrene discs with a radius of 4.5 cm and a depth of 1.5 cm; the left and right sides of the upper parasitic dish and the lower parasitic dish are respectively rectangular cross-sections of 4 cm×1.5 cm, which are respectively connected with hinges and buckles. The size of the upper parasitic dish and the lower parasitic dish is consistent with the size of leaves of most whiteflies host plants, providing sufficient egg-laying sites for whiteflies and their parasitic wasps.

[0010] Furthermore, the hinge and buckle of the present invention are made of polystyrene. The light-weight polystyrene is selected to reduce the overall mass of the device of the present invention so that the mass is within the range that the host plant leaves can bear.

[0011] Furthermore, the ventilation opening described in the present invention is a circular opening with a radius of 0.3 cm, and is paved with a gauze mesh with a mesh number of 120 and a material of iron wire.

[0012] Furthermore, the present invention provides a sponge pad at the junction of the upper parasitic dish and the lower parasitic dish; the sponge pad is 0.3 cm thick and 0.2 cm wide. The sponge pad is provided to prevent the harder material of the parasitic dish from damaging the plant leaves and affecting the normal growth of the plant.

[0013] Furthermore, the insect receiving opening of the present invention is a hollow cylindrical pipe with a radius of 0.6 cm and a height of 1 cm, inserted into the upper parasitism dish by 0.5 cm, and a thread A is arranged inside the insect receiving opening; the insect receiving tube is a hollow round tube with a radius of 0.5 cm and a height of 5 cm, and a thread B is arranged outside the opening; the insect receiving opening and the insect receiving tube are connected by threads A and B, and are made of polystyrene. The setting of the insect receiving opening and the insect receiving tube is to facilitate the test insects to be placed inside the parasitism device and reduce escape.

[0014] Furthermore, the culture device described in the present invention is a circular disk with a radius of 4.5 cm and a height of 3 cm. A thread is arranged on the outside of the opening and connected to the internal thread of the lid. The radius of the central circular opening on the top of the lid is 4 cm, and the mesh number of the laid gauze is 120 meshes, and the material is iron wire.

[0015] A method for using a device for measuring the growth and development index of whitefly parasitic wasps using living plants, the method steps of measuring the growth and development index of whitefly parasitic wasps using the present invention are as follows:

[0016] Step 1: When the host plant has 4 leaves, clamp the parasitic device to the middle of the healthier leaves of the plant;

[0017] Step 2: tightly connect the insect receiving tube containing 30 pairs of whiteflies to the insect receiving port on the parasitizing device through threads A and B, so that the whiteflies in the insect receiving tube can crawl freely into the interior of the parasitizing device;

[0018] Step 3: After the whiteflies lay eggs freely on the leaves of the host plant inside the parasitic device for 24 hours, open the buckle of the parasitic device to release all the whiteflies in the parasitic device, and then reconnect the parasitic device to the leaves of the host plant, making sure that the connection position is the same as the initial position;

[0019] Step 4: Place the host plant with the parasitic device reconnected in an artificial climate chamber for cultivation under the following conditions: temperature 25°C, light intensity 14L:10D, relative humidity 60%-65%, until the whitefly nymphs on the back of the leaves develop to the third instar, remove the excess nymphs that are not the third instar with an insect pin, and only keep 30 third instar nymphs on the back of each leaf;

[0020] Step 5: tightly connect the insect receiving tube containing a female adult whitefly parasitic wasp to the insect receiving port on the parasitism device through threads A and B, so that the parasitic wasp in the insect receiving tube can crawl freely into the interior of the parasitism device;

[0021] Step 6: After the parasitic wasps have been parasitizing freely in the parasitic device for 24 hours, the buckle of the parasitic device is opened to release the adult parasitic wasps in the parasitic device, and the leaves of the host plant are removed, and the excess leaves are cut off according to the edge of the parasitic device;

[0022] Step 7, add 20% agarose into the culture device, and after the agarose cools down, lay the host plant leaves with the parasitized whitefly nymphs on the agarose, making sure that the leaves fit tightly with the agarose, close the lid, and then place the culture device in an artificial climate box for culture under the following conditions: temperature 25°C, light intensity: 14L:10D, relative humidity 60%-65%;

[0023] Step 8, observe and record the growth and development of whitefly nymphs in the culture device every day, and feed them 10% honey water every day after the parasitic wasps emerge;

[0024] Step nine, record the number of nymphs that turn into "black pupae", the number of nymphs that emerge, and the number of parasitic wasp adults that die daily until all parasitic wasp adults die.

[0025] Due to the adoption of the above technical scheme, the advantages of the present invention are: 1) the present invention adopts light polystyrene as the main material, the overall weight of the device is light and within the load-bearing range of the host plant leaves; the size is consistent with the size of most whitefly host plant leaves, providing sufficient egg-laying sites for whiteflies and their parasitic wasps; 2) agar is placed in the culture device, and the parasitic device and the culture device are both provided with ventilation and air permeability structures to ensure the normal environment required for the growth and development of the test insects; 3) the sponge pad is set to prevent the hard material of the parasitic dish from damaging the plant leaves and affecting the normal growth of the plant; 4) the setting of the insect receiving port and the insect receiving tube solves the problem that the test insects are easy to escape when they are placed in the parasitic device, and the number and escape rate of the escape are almost zero compared with the prior art. 5) the use of the device and method of the present invention has a greater promoting effect on the growth and development of whiteflies, and the performance is very significant. 6) the present invention uses living plants to observe the growth and development of whiteflies and parasitic wasps, which is closer to the natural environment and the measured data is more accurate. 7) the structural design of the present invention is reasonable and practical, easy to operate, and the use effect is ideal and significant.

[0026] The present invention is further explained and illustrated below using the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the parasitic device of the present invention combined with the host plant.

[0028] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the parasitic device of the present invention in an open state.

[0029] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the culture device of the present invention.

[0030] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the insect receiving opening and the insect receiving tube of the present invention.

[0031] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the hinge of the present invention.

[0032] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the buckle of the present invention.

[0033] Figure 7 Survival curves of whitefly parasitoids under different measurement methods.

[0034] Explanation of the reference numerals: parasitic device (1), buckle (2), insect receiving opening (3), thread A (3.1), thread B (4.1), insect receiving tube (4), lower parasitic dish (5), upper parasitic dish (6), sponge pad (7), hinge (8), vent (9), culture device (10), cover (11), gauze (12). DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more clear, the present invention is further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0036] A device for measuring growth and development indicators of whitefly parasitic wasps using living plants, the device comprising a parasitic device 1 and a cultivation device 10; characterized in that the parasitic device 1 comprises an upper parasitic dish 6 and a lower parasitic dish 5, the opening surfaces of the upper and lower parasitic dishes are arranged opposite to each other and closed to form a space for parasitic wasps to parasitize, and sponge pads 7 are respectively arranged at the junction of the upper and lower parasitic dishes; the upper parasitic dish 6 and the lower parasitic dish 5 are fixedly connected at one end by a hinge 8, and the other end is connected by a buckle 2; three ventilation holes 9 are respectively arranged on both sides of the upper and lower parasitic dishes; an insect receiving port 3 is arranged at the top of the upper parasitic dish 6 near one end of the buckle 2, and is connected to an insect receiving tube 4.

[0037] Furthermore, the culture device 10 of the present invention is a disc with a lid 11, which contains 20% agar by mass. A circular opening is provided in the center of the lid 11, and a gauze 12 is laid in the circular opening. The purpose of placing agar is to ensure the humidity of the leaves of the host plant and the humidity requirement for the growth and development of the whitefly nymphs; the purpose of the gauze 12 laid in the center of the lid 11 is ventilation.

[0038] Furthermore, the upper parasitic dish 6 and the lower parasitic dish 5 of the present invention are polystyrene discs with a radius of 4.5 cm and a depth of 1.5 cm; the left and right sides of the upper parasitic dish 6 and the lower parasitic dish 5 are respectively rectangular cross-sections of 4 cm×1.5 cm, respectively connected to the hinge 8 and the buckle 2. The size of the upper parasitic dish 6 and the lower parasitic dish 5 is consistent with the size of leaves of most whiteflies host plants, providing sufficient egg-laying sites for whiteflies and their parasitic wasps.

[0039] Furthermore, the hinge 8 and the buckle 2 of the present invention are made of polystyrene. The light-weight polystyrene is selected to reduce the overall mass of the device of the present invention so that the mass is within the range that the host plant leaves can bear.

[0040] Furthermore, the ventilation opening 9 described in the present invention is a circular opening with a radius of 0.3 cm, and is paved with a gauze mesh with a mesh number of 120 and a material of iron wire.

[0041] Furthermore, the sponge pad 7 of the present invention has a thickness of 0.3 cm and a width of 0.2 cm. The sponge pad 7 is provided to prevent the harder material of the parasitic dish from damaging the plant leaves and affecting the normal growth of the plant.

[0042] Furthermore, the insect receiving opening 3 of the present invention is a hollow cylindrical pipe with a radius of 0.6 cm and a height of 1 cm, inserted into the upper parasitoid dish 6 by 0.5 cm, and a thread A3.1 is arranged inside the insect receiving opening 3; the insect receiving tube 4 is a hollow round tube with a radius of 0.5 cm and a height of 5 cm, and a thread B4.1 is arranged outside the opening; the insect receiving opening 3 and the insect receiving tube 4 are connected by threads A3.1 and B4.1, and are made of polystyrene. The setting of the insect receiving opening 3 and the insect receiving tube 4 is to facilitate the test insects to be placed inside the parasitoid device 1 to reduce escape.

[0043] Furthermore, the culture device 10 described in the present invention is a disc with a radius of 4.5 cm and a height of 3 cm. A thread is arranged on the outside of the opening and connected to the internal thread of the cover 11. The radius of the central circular opening on the top of the cover 11 is 4 cm, and the mesh 12 is 120 meshes and is made of iron wire.

[0044] A method for using a device for measuring the growth and development index of whitefly parasitic wasps using living plants, the method steps of measuring the growth and development index of whitefly parasitic wasps using the present invention are as follows:

[0045] Step 1: When the host plant has 4 leaves, the parasitic device 1 is clamped to the middle of the healthier leaves of the plant;

[0046] Step 2: tightly connect the insect receiving tube 4 containing 30 pairs of whiteflies to the insect receiving port 3 on the parasitizing device 1 through the threads A3.1 and B4.1, so that the whiteflies in the insect receiving tube 4 can crawl freely into the interior of the parasitizing device 1;

[0047] Step 3: After the whiteflies have laid eggs freely on the leaves of the host plant inside the parasitic device 1 for 24 hours, open the buckle 2 of the parasitic device 1 to release all the whiteflies in the parasitic device 1, and then reconnect the parasitic device 1 to the leaves of the host plant, and note that the connection position is the same as the initial position;

[0048] Step 4, placing the host plant with the parasitism device 1 reconnected in an artificial climate box for cultivation, the cultivation conditions are: temperature 25°C, light: 14L:10D, relative humidity 60%-65%, until the whitefly nymphs on the back of the leaves develop to the third instar, and removing the excess nymphs that are not the third instar with an insect pin, leaving only 30 third instar nymphs on the back of each leaf;

[0049] Step 5: tightly connect the insect receiving tube 4 containing a female adult whitefly parasitic wasp to the insect receiving port 3 on the parasitizing device 1 through the threads A3.1 and B4.1, so that the parasitic wasp in the insect receiving tube 4 can crawl freely into the interior of the parasitizing device 1;

[0050] Step 6: After the parasitic wasps have been free to parasitize inside the parasitic device 1 for 24 hours, the buckle 2 of the parasitic device 1 is opened to release the adult parasitic wasps inside the parasitic device 1, and the leaves of the host plant are removed, and the excess leaves are cut off according to the edge of the parasitic device 1;

[0051] Step 7, add 20% agarose into the culture device 10, and after the agarose cools down, spread the host plant leaves with the parasitized whitefly nymphs on the agarose, making sure that the leaves and the agarose fit tightly, cover the lid 11, and then place the culture device 10 in an artificial climate box for culture, and the culture conditions are: temperature 25°C, light: 14L:10D, relative humidity 60%-65%;

[0052] Step 8, observing and recording the growth and development of whitefly nymphs in the culture device 10 every day, and feeding them 10% honey water every day after the parasitic wasps emerge;

[0053] Step nine, record the number of nymphs that turn into "black pupae", the number of nymphs that emerge, and the number of parasitic wasp adults that die daily until all parasitic wasp adults die.

[0054] Detailed description of specific embodiments

[0055] Specific operation examples:

[0056] The present invention is further explained below in conjunction with specific examples. This specific implementation method is implemented on the premise of the technical solution of the present invention. It should be understood that these methods are only used to illustrate the present invention and are not used to limit the scope of the present invention.

[0057] (1) The test device is:

[0058] Brief description: The device includes a parasitic device and a culture device. The parasitic device includes an upper parasitic dish and a lower parasitic dish. The opening surfaces of the upper and lower parasitic dishes are arranged opposite to each other and closed to form a space for parasitic wasps to parasitize. The upper and lower parasitic dishes are polystyrene discs with a radius of 4.5 cm and a depth of 1.5 cm. Sponge pads with a thickness of 0.3 cm and a width of 0.2 cm are respectively arranged at the joints. The upper and lower parasitic dishes are fixedly connected at one end by a hinge and connected at the other end by a buckle. The upper and lower parasitic dishes are respectively provided with three ventilation holes on both sides, with a radius of 0.3 cm and 12 0 mesh wire mesh; an insect receiving port is arranged at one end of the buckle near the top of the upper parasitic dish, which is connected to the insect receiving tube, the insect receiving port is a hollow cylindrical pipe with a radius of 0.6 cm and a height of 1 cm, inserted into the upper parasitic dish 0.5 cm, the insect receiving tube is a hollow round tube with a radius of 0.5 cm and a height of 5 cm; the culture device is a disc with a radius of 4.5 cm and a height of 3 cm with a lid, containing agar with a mass fraction of 20%, a circular opening with a radius of 4 cm in the center of the lid, and a wire mesh with a mesh number of 120 is laid.

[0059] (2) Test insect sources and test operations:

[0060] Test insects: The parasitic wasp tested was the Aphididae, which was bred for more than 5 generations in the laboratory; the whitefly tested was the MEAM1 type, which was raised indoors on cotton and tobacco and the population was established.

[0061] Experimental operation: Take cotton plants with 4 leaves, connect the device to cotton leaves, and introduce 30 male and female whiteflies into the parasitism device through the insect receiving tube and the insect receiving port. Remove all adult whiteflies after laying eggs for 24 hours. After the whiteflies on the back of the leaves develop into 3rd instar nymphs, use insect pins to remove excess nymphs that are not 3rd instar, and only keep 30 3rd instar nymphs on the back of each leaf. Introduce 1 adult of the Aphididae on the 5th day after eclosion through the insect receiving tube and the insect receiving port, and remove it after parasitizing for 24 hours. Pick off the cotton leaves, cut off the excess leaves according to the edge of the parasitism device, and place them in the culture device for culture. 20% agarose is added in advance inside the culture device, and the cotton leaves with parasitized whitefly nymphs are spread on the agarose, paying attention to the close fit between the leaves and the agarose, and then the lid is covered, and then the culture device is placed in an artificial climate box for culture (temperature: 25°C, light: 14L:10D, relative humidity: 60%-65%). The growth and development of whitefly nymphs in the culture device were observed and recorded every day. After the parasitic wasps emerged, they were fed with 10% honey water every day. The number of nymphs that turned into "black pupae", the number of emergence, and the number of parasitic wasp adults that died were recorded daily until all the parasitic wasp adults died. The control group used ordinary insect cages, and each treatment was repeated 10 groups. The experimental data were calculated using Excel for the average lifespan and emergence rate of parasitic wasps. Duncan's new multiple range method (P < 0.05) was used for significant difference analysis of each treatment. SPSS 20.0 was used for data processing and analysis.

[0062] (3) Escape of whiteflies and their parasitic wasps under two measurement methods

[0063] Table 1 Escape of whiteflies and their parasitic wasps under different measurement methods

[0064]

[0065] Note: The data in the table are mean ± standard error. The same lowercase letters indicate no significant difference, while different lowercase letters indicate significant difference.

[0066] The escape conditions of whiteflies and their parasitic wasps under different measurement methods are shown in Table 1. When the growth and development of Bemisia tabaci was measured by the present invention, the number of whiteflies escaping from each device was only 0.15, and the escape rate was only 0.50%, which was significantly lower than the number and rate of escapes when measured in ordinary insect cages (F 1,39 =47.5630; P=0.0001); no escape of Bemisia tabaci wasps occurred, and the escape rate was 0, which was significantly lower than the number and rate of escapes when measured in ordinary insect cages (F 1,39 =10.2310; P=0.0028);

[0067] (4) Growth and development performance of whitefly parasitoids under two measurement methods

[0068] Table 2 Growth and development performance of whitefly parasitoids under different measurement methods

[0069]

[0070] Note: The data in the table are mean ± standard error. The same lowercase letters indicate no significant difference, while different lowercase letters indicate significant difference.

[0071] The growth and development performance of whitefly parasitic wasps under different measurement methods is shown in Table 2. When the growth and development of the Aphididae wasp was measured by the present invention, the parasitism rate of the Aphididae wasp was 47.17%, which was significantly higher than the result obtained by measuring with ordinary insect cages (F 1,39 =25.5180; P=0.0001), and the emergence rate of the Aphididae wasp was 90.67%, which was not significantly different from the result obtained by measuring with ordinary insect cages (F 1,39 =3.3540; P=0.0767). The present invention measured that the Aphididae wasp required 8.10 days to develop from eggs to black pupae, and 7.29 days to develop from black pupae to adults, which was not significantly different from the results obtained by measuring with ordinary insect cages (egg-black pupa: F 1,32 =0.1050; P=0.7475; black pupa-adult: F 1,32 =0.7410; P=0.3959). The life span of the Aphididae was measured by the present invention to be 21.76 days, which is slightly higher than the result obtained by measuring with a common insect cage (F1,32 =4.6840; P=0.0383).

[0072] (5) Survival curves of whitefly parasitoids under two measurement methods

[0073] Survival curves of whitefly parasitoids under different measurement methods Figure 7 As shown. Within 4 days after the adult bees emerged, there was no death in the device of the present invention and in the ordinary insect cage. After 4 days, the survival curves of the two devices measured by the Aphididae were consistent, and the survival rate slowly decreased with the passage of time. After 18 days, the downward trend of the survival curves of the Aphididae measured by the two devices accelerated, and the survival rate decreased rapidly until it slowly decreased to 0 after 33 days.

[0074] The above test results show that the device and method adopted by the present invention are simpler in the test operation process. The insect receiving tube and insect receiving port of the present invention can effectively reduce the escape rate of whiteflies and their parasitic wasps, reduce the test error, and are significantly better than using ordinary insect cages. The present invention is used to measure the growth and development of whitefly parasitic wasps, and the whitefly nymphs for testing can be effectively controlled on leaves of the size of the present device. When ordinary insect cages are used, whitefly nymphs are often scattered on the whole plant in the insect cage, which is not conducive to the parasitic wasps to find whitefly nymphs. The main results obtained by measuring the growth and development of whitefly parasitic wasps using the present invention are not significantly different from the results obtained by conventionally using ordinary insect cages, which shows the scientific nature of the present invention and the reliability of the test data. In summary, the device of the present invention can ensure that the escape of the test insects is reduced during the test process, reduce the test error, and make the test operation simpler. The test proves that the results measured by the present invention are similar to the results obtained by the conventional measurement method, which shows the scientific nature and reliability of the present invention.

[0075] The above text describes in detail the device, method and results for measuring the growth and development indicators of whitefly parasitic wasps. However, the method and structure of the present invention can be used to measure the growth and development indicators of parasitic wasps of pests such as aphids and leafhoppers by making slight adjustments, such as the size of the parasitic dish, the type of host plant and the method of cultivating parasitic wasp pupae.

[0076] The above is only a specific embodiment of the present invention, and the common knowledge such as the known specific structure and characteristics in the scheme is not described in detail here. It should be pointed out that for those skilled in the art, several deformations and improvements can be made without departing from the structure of the present invention, which should also be regarded as the protection scope of the present invention, and these will not affect the effect of the implementation of the present invention and the practicality of the patent. The scope of protection required by this application shall be based on the content of its claims, and the specific implementation methods and other records in the specification can be used to interpret the content of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for measuring the growth and development indicators of whitefly parasitic wasps using living plants, characterized in that: The method for measuring the growth and development index of whitefly parasitic wasps using living plants is to use a device for measuring the growth and development index of whitefly parasitic wasps using living plants for measurement; The device comprises a parasitic device (1) and a culture device (10); the parasitic device (1) comprises an upper parasitic dish (6) and a lower parasitic dish (5), the opening surfaces of the upper and lower parasitic dishes being arranged opposite to each other and closing to form a space for parasitic wasps to parasitize; the upper parasitic dish (6) and the lower parasitic dish (5) are fixedly connected at one end by a hinge (8) and are connected at the other end by a buckle (2), the hinge (8) and the buckle (2) being made of polystyrene; ventilation holes (9) are respectively arranged on the side surfaces of the upper parasitic dish (6) and the lower parasitic dish (5), and a gauze net (12) is fixedly arranged on the ventilation hole (9); an insect receiving opening (3) is arranged at the top of the upper parasitic dish (6) near one end of the buckle (2), and the insect receiving opening (3) is connected to the insect receiving tube (4); The specifications of the upper parasitic dish (6) and the lower parasitic dish (5) are as follows: the upper parasitic dish (6) and the lower parasitic dish (5) are polystyrene discs with a radius of 4.5 cm and a depth of 1.5 cm; the left and right sides of the upper parasitic dish (6) and the lower parasitic dish (5) are rectangular cross-sections of 4 cm×1.5 cm, respectively, and are connected to the hinge (8) and the buckle (2) respectively; The insect receiving opening (3) is a hollow cylindrical pipe with a radius of 0.6 cm and a height of 1 cm, which is inserted into the upper parasitic dish (6) by 0.5 cm, and a thread A (3.1) is arranged inside the insect receiving opening (3); the insect receiving tube (4) is a hollow circular tube with a radius of 0.5 cm and a height of 5 cm, and a thread B (4.1) is arranged outside the opening; the insect receiving opening (3) and the insect receiving tube (4) are connected by the thread A (3.1) and the thread B (4.1), and the material is both polystyrene; The culture device (10) is a disc with a lid (11), which contains agar with a mass fraction of 20%. The lid (11) has a circular opening in the center, and a gauze (12) is laid in the circular opening. The method steps of using the device to determine the growth and development indexes of whitefly parasitic wasps are as follows: Step 1: When the host plant has 4 leaves, clamp the parasitism device (1) to the middle of the healthier leaves of the plant; Step 2: tightly connect the insect receiving tube (4) containing 30 pairs of whiteflies to the insect receiving port (3) on the parasitizing device (1) through the thread A (3.1) and the thread B (4.1), so that the whiteflies in the insect receiving tube (4) can crawl freely into the interior of the parasitizing device (1); Step 3: After the whiteflies have laid eggs freely on the leaves of the host plant inside the parasitic device (1) for 24 hours, the buckle (2) of the parasitic device (1) is opened to release all the whiteflies adults inside the parasitic device (1), and then the parasitic device (1) is reconnected to the leaves of the host plant, with the connection position being the same as the initial position; Step 4: Place the host plant with the parasitism device (1) reconnected in an artificial climate chamber and culture it under the following conditions: temperature 25°C, light intensity 14 L:10 D, relative humidity 60%-65%, until the whitefly nymphs on the back of the leaves develop to the third instar, remove the excess nymphs that are not the third instar with an insect pin, and only keep 30 third instar nymphs on the back of each leaf; Step 5: tightly connect the insect receiving tube (4) containing a female adult whitefly parasitic wasp to the insect receiving opening (3) on the parasitism device (1) through the thread A (3.1) and the thread B (4.1), so that the parasitic wasp in the insect receiving tube (4) can crawl freely into the interior of the parasitism device (1); Step 6: After the parasitic wasp has been freely parasitizing inside the parasitic device (1) for 24 hours, the buckle (2) of the parasitic device (1) is opened to release the adult parasitic wasp inside the parasitic device (1), and the leaves of the host plant are removed, and the excess leaves are cut off along the edge of the parasitic device (1); Step 7, add 20% agarose into the culture device (10), and after the agarose cools down, spread the host plant leaves with parasitized whitefly nymphs on the agarose, making sure that the leaves fit tightly against the agarose, and then put the lid (11) on, and then place the culture device (10) in an artificial climate box for culture, and the culture conditions are: temperature 25°C, light: 14 L:10 D, relative humidity 60%-65%; Step 8, observing and recording the growth and development of whitefly nymphs in the culture device (10) every day, and feeding 10% honey water every day after the parasitic wasps emerge; the culture device (10) is a disk with a radius of 4.5 cm and a height of 3 cm, with a thread arranged outside the opening, connected to the internal thread of the cover (11); the radius of the central circular opening at the top of the cover (11) is 4 cm, and the mesh number of the laid gauze (12) is 120 meshes, and the material is iron wire; Step nine, record the number of nymphs that turn into "black pupae", the number of pupae that emerge, and the number of parasitic wasp adults that die daily until all parasitic wasp adults die.

2. The method for measuring the growth and development indexes of whitefly parasitic wasps using living plants according to claim 1, characterized in that: The ventilation opening (9) is a circular opening with a radius of 0.3 cm, and is covered with a gauze mesh (12) having a mesh number of 120 and made of iron wire.

3. The method for measuring the growth and development indexes of whitefly parasitic wasps using living plants according to claim 1, characterized in that: A sponge pad (7) is provided at the junction of the upper parasitic dish (6) and the lower parasitic dish (5); the sponge pad (7) has a thickness of 0.3 cm and a width of 0.2 cm.

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