''Trichogramma brassicae'' is a species of

parasitoid wasp Parasitoid wasps are a large group of hymenopteran superfamilies, with all but the wood wasps (Orussoidea) being in the wasp-waisted Apocrita. As parasitoids, they lay their eggs on or in the bodies of other arthropods, sooner or later causin ...

s from the

Trichogrammatidae The Trichogrammatidae are a family of tiny wasps in the Chalcidoidea that include some of the smallest of all insects, with most species having adults less than 1 mm in length, with species of ''Megaphragma'' having an adult body length le ...

family. It mainly parasitizes

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...

n hosts in agricultural fields. They are entomaphagous parasitoids that deposit their own eggs inside the host's eggs, consuming the host egg material and emerging upon full development. They are a common biological control species that have been used commercially since the late 1970s. Inundative releases of ''T. brassicae'', recently, can be done by means of drones and integrated control with ''Bacillus thuringiensis'' subsp. ''kurstaki'' were demonstrated effective as chemical insecticide treatments and of course without negative environmental side effects.

References

* Burgio G., Maini S., 1995.- Control of European corn borer in sweet corn by Trichogramma brassicae Bezd. (Hym., Trichogrammatidae).- Journal of Applied Entomology, 119 (1): 83–87. Magagnoli S.,Lanzoni A., Masetti A., Depalo L., Albertini M., Ferrari R., Spadola G., Degola F., Restivo F. M., Burgio G.- 2021 Sustainability of strategies for Ostrinia nubilalis management in Northern Italy: Potential impact on beneficial arthropods and aflatoxin contamination in years with different meteorological conditions, Crop protection, 142, 105529 Trichogrammatidae Insects used as insect pest control agents Biological pest control wasps Insects described in 1833 {{Parasite-insect-stub