Search

Lytopylus rufipes(Nees) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Agathidinae) is a potential natural enemy of the oriental fruit moth, Grapholita molesta(Busck) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), but there is no established method to rear this wasp continuously. In the laboratory, female wasps can produce both female and male progenies without mating (deuterotokous), but host-infested plants are necessary to trigger oviposition behavior. In this study, immature apples were used because they keep well. Grapholita molestalarvae were transferred to immature apples, and then exposed to L. rufipesfemales. After parasitization, these apples were transferred to blocks of artificial diet (Silkmate 2M) for further rearing. Using this transitional diet system, L. rufipesfemales develop in 25.1 ± 1.8 (mean ± SD) days from egg to adult, but male wasps require only 23.8 ± 1.0 days. Furthermore, the longevity of female wasps was 12.2 ± 7.3 (mean ± SD) days, and the parasitism rate was 26.4 (95% Cl: 22.2–30.6). Female wasps can attack host larvae in all instars, but parasitism of first-instar larvae is more successful. Therefore, first-instar larvae of G. molestaare recommended for establishing a L. rufipescolony under laboratory conditions. This system decreases the requirement for plant material and maintains continuous production of L. rufipes.

ABSTRACTMany governments worldwide have recently adopted and recognized the value of performance-based contracts (PBCs) in various sectors. Research teams have developed an innovative PBC for urban road maintenance (URM) and implemented a one-year pilot program in an administrative district of Taipei City, Taiwan, in which the preliminary benefits of the pilot program for stakeholders have been proven but not sufficient for long-term contracts and citywide implementation. This study developed a five-perspective balanced scorecard (BSC) approach, adding an additional social environment perspective to examine the outcomes of strategic planning and performance evaluation for URM. This study organized two focus group interviews with 30 pilot program participants to highlight the key challenges and develop key coping strategies (KCSs). Identified key challenges were transformed into key success factors (KSFs) using the BSC approach. Among identified KCSs, attracting good contractors to participate, setting appropriate performance indicators and thresholds, enhancing the professional ability of the authority staffs, and establishing PBC bidding template documents are the most valuable strategies. The significant outcomes are organized into a correspondence diagram of the KSFs and KCSs, which serve as a benchmark for city road authorities when implementing PBCs to improve the performance of URM.