MODELS OF PERIODIC INUNDATION OF PARASITOIDS FOR PEST-CONTROL

Several host-parasitoid [insects] models were examined to assess the feasibility of parasitoid inundation as a means of pest control or eradication. The approach is comparative, to assess independently the effects of various ecological factors on the ease of control by this means. For most of the models, there exists a critical inundation rate, I*, above which the host population is eradicated, provided inundative releases continue beyond the time of eradication. The existence of density-dependent mortality in the hosts reduces the time to eradication but does not affect I*. Density dependence in the parasitoids, however, usually increases I*. The existence of hyperparasitoids appears to have no effect on the ease of host eradication.