Towards an attract-and-reward strategy: evaluating nectar resources and HIPVs under laboratory conditions to enhance Aphelinus mali parasitism activity, a key parasitoid of Eriosoma lanigerum

Abstract

The attract-and-reward strategy involves attracting natural enemies using volatile compounds or insectary plants and rewarding them with refuge and food sources. Plants with accessible nectar and early bloom together with herbivore-induced plant volatiles, such as phenylacetaldehyde (Pal) and methyl salicylate (MeSA), could enhance populations of Aphelinus mali Haldeman (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae), a main parasitoid of Eriosoma lanigerum (Hausmann) (Hemiptera: Aphididae).