Identifying the Trichogramma Spp. (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) Parasitizing Archips rosana (L.) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), an Important Pest of Fruit Trees in Turkey

The rose tortrix, Archips rosana (L.) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), is a polyphagous pest of fruit crops and forest trees. A. rosana is attacked by a large number of natural enemies, including egg parasitoids in the genus Trichogramma (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae). There is interest in using these egg parasitoids in biological control, but a fundamental first step is correct identification of species. Trichogramma species were collected from the eggs of A. rosana in the Cankiri province of Central Anatolia Region, Turkey, and identified using established molecular methods. DNA was extracted from the wasps and a section of the ribosomal cistron (rDNA) spanning the second internal transcribed spacer (ITS-2) was amplified using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Sequencing of the amplification products revealed that parasitization of A. rosana eggs was the result of two Trichogramma species; T. dendrolimi Matsumura and T. euproctidis Girault. Both species warrant further consideration for use in biological control of A. rosana in Turkish fruit orchards.