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L’application de l’agromine à des zones ultramafiques délaissées constitue un enjeu majeur à la vue des surfaces potentiellement valorisables. Par contre, les sols ultramafiques sont particuliers avec de fortes concentrations en métaux et une quasi absence de matière organique. Malgré tout, la mise en place de l’agromine a déjà donné de bons résultats, couplée avec l’application d’herbicides et une fertilisation minérale. Notre défi a été de développer une agromine durable par la mise en place d’agro-écosystèmes basés sur l’introduction d’une légumineuse en association avec une plante hyperaccumulatrice et la suppression de tout intrant chimique. Nos résultats ont confirmé clairement que l'introduction d'une légumineuse dans l’agromine a amélioré la production de biomasse de Alyssum murale et les rendements de nickel par rapport à sa monoculture fertilisée et non fertilisée. Nos travaux ont également montré que l'insertion d'une légumineuse dans l’agromine permet d’améliorer la structure du sol avec des agrégats plus stables. De plus, de meilleures teneurs en carbone, azote et en matière organique ont été détectées. L’ensemble de ces éléments conduit ainsi à une amélioration globale de la structure du sol, de sa fertilité et de son biofonctionnement. Corrélativement, nos résultats ont mis en évidence les effets positifs de ces nouvelles pratiques, à la fois sur la taille, la diversité et les acitivités liées aux cycles biogéochimiques des communautés bactériennes. D’un point de vue écononique, l’introduction de la légumineuse dans l’agromine implique un gain financier et de temps du fait de la réduction de l'application d’engrais et de produits phytosanitaires. Enfin, tous ces avantages conduisent à une réhabilitation des sols ultramafiques avec une restauration de leurs qualités physique, chimique et biologique, tout en permettant à ces sols particuliers d’offrir plusieurs services écosystémiques / The application of agromining to abandoned ultramafic areas is a major challenge in the presence of potentially recoverable areas. Howerver, ultramafic soils are particular in terms of their fertility with high concentrations of metals and a near absence of organic matter. Nevertheless, this challenge was partly met by the application of chemical fertilizers and herbicides. Our challenge, through this PhD, was to develop a sustainable agro-ecosystem based on the introduction of a legume in association with the hyperaccumulating plant and then the reduction of any chemical input. Our results clearly confirmed that the introduction of a legume into these new cropping systems improved both the biomass production of Alyssum murale and the Ni yields in comparison to the fertilized and non-fertilized monoculture. Our work has also shown that the insertion of a legume into agromining cropping systems improves the structure of the soil due to stable and larger aggregates. In addition, higher levels of carbon and nitrogen and higher concentrations of organic matter were detected. These results led to an overall improvement of the soil structure, its fertility and its biofunctioning. Our results showed positive effects of these new cropping systems, both on the size of the bacterial communities and on the microbial enzymes involved in the soil biogeochemical cycles. In addition, the structure and diversity of bacterial communities were modified with the insertion of the legume, compared to the monoculture. Economically, the introduction of legume into cropping systems dedicated to Ni agromining involves a gain of money and time due to reduced application of mineral fertilizers as well as products of phytosanitary. Finally, all these benefits lead to the rehabilitation of ultramafic soils with the restoration of their physical, chemical and biological qualities while allowing these particular soils to offer many ecosystem services

Cette recherche s’inscrit dans le contexte de la conception d’une filière originale comprenant la phytoextraction du nickel par la plante hyperaccumulatrice Alyssum murale, endémique des sols de serpentine d’Albanie et de sa valorisation de ce nickel, l’objectif étant d’arriver à un produit à haute valeur ajoutée. Les sols de serpentine peuvent être considérés comme une ressource secondaire. Ils contiennent des concentrations élevées en nickel mais à des teneurs insuffisantes pour être exploités par l’industrie minière. La plante Alyssum murale peut extraire et concentrer le nickel dans ses tissus. Le nickel présent dans la biomasse a pu être solubilisé quasiment totalement à l’acide sulfurique, en réacteur fermé puis à contre-courant en trois étapes. Cette lixiviation a produit une solution contenant du nickel lié à des molécules organiques ainsi que d’autres métaux et composés organiques. Les procédés de raffinage directs comme la précipitation sélective ou l’électroplaquage n’ont pas permis d’isoler le nickel. Deux voies ont été explorées : (i) l’extraction par un solvant organique sélectif du nickel (Cyanex 272) suivie d’une contre extraction par une solution aqueuse et électrodéposition et (ii) la cristallisation d’un sel double à partir du lixiviat préparé après incinération de la biomasse. La première voie a permis d’obtenir le nickel métal sous forme de cathode, la seconde a conduit au sel double sulfate de nickel et d’ammonium. Les produits ont été caractérisés par différentes techniques. Une étude technico-économique a montré le fort potentiel économique de la production de sel double / This research has been done in the context of the design of an original method aiming at obtaining high added value products of nickel, combining phytoextraction and valorization. Phytoextraction is conducted with the hyperaccumulating plant Alyssum murale, endemic species of serpentine soils in Albania. Serpentine soils can be considered as secondary resources: they contain high concentrations of nickel, which are not high enough for conventional mining techniques. The plant Alyssum murale can extract and concentrate nickel in its tissues. Nickel present in the biomass could be almost totally solubilized in batch reactor and with a 3 step countercurrent process. This leaching produced a solution containing nickel bound to organic molecules and other metals and organic compounds as well. Direct separation processes (e.g. selective precipitation and electrowinning) did not enable us to obtain nickel. Two methods have been investigated: (i) extraction by an organic nickel –selective solvent (Cyanex 272), extraction by an aqueous solution and electrowinning and (ii) crystallization of a double salt, nickel ammonium sulfate, from a leaching solution obtained from biomass ashes. Nickel products were characterized by different techniques. A technico-economical study showed the high commercial potential of the double salt production.

Certaines plantes, dites hyperaccumulatrices, ont la capacité de se développer sur des sols riches en métaux et d’accumuler ces métaux à des concentrations élevées. L’incinération de la biomasse produit des cendres qui contiennent de 10 à 25% en masse de Ni. Ce travail s’inscrit dans la continuité d’une recherche menée par l’équipe depuis plusieurs années, qui a donné lieu notamment à un brevet sur la production du sel double sulfate de nickel et d’ammonium hexahydraté (ANSH) à partir de la biomasse d’Alyssum murale. Le manuscrit comprend d’abord une synthèse bibliographique sur la phytomine, allant des hyperaccumulateurs aux procédés de valorisation, essentiellement centrée sur le nickel. Ensuite, ont été comparées quinze plantes hyperaccumulatrices (des genres Alyssum, Leptoplax et Bornmuellera) provenant d’Albanie ou de Grèce, en vue de leur application pour la phytomine. Les teneurs en nickel ont été mesurées dans les différents organes des plantes et dans les cendres obtenues par combustion. Les trois genres ont de l’intérêt pour l’application, les plantes contiennent 1 à 3% en masse de nickel et les cendres 15 à 20 %. Le procédé hydrométallurgique de production d’ANSH a été étudié étape par étape en vue d’optimiser chaque étape pour produire un sel très pur tout en économisant matière et énergie et minimisant la production d’effluents et de déchets. Ce travail a conduit à l’amélioration du procédé de départ. Enfin, de nouvelles pistes ont été proposées pour conduire à de nouveaux procédés et produits du nickel. Les résultats obtenus et la dynamique actuelle autour de la phytomine montrent l’intérêt de cette approche et annoncent son développement imminent / Some plants, known as hyperaccumulators, are able to develop on metal containing soils and to accumulate these metals at high concentrations in shoots. Biomass incineration leads to ash containing 10 to 25 wt % nickels, greater than in some mineral ores. This work follows a research that has been carried out by the team for several years, which has resulted in a patent on the hydrometallurgical production of the double salt ammonium and nickel hexahydrate (ANSH) from the biomass of Alyssum murale. It aims at improving the synthesis method of this salt in order to upscale it at the pilot scale and explore new methods leading to new products. The manuscript begins with a bibliographic review on phytomining from hyperaccumulators to metal recycling processes, essentially focused on nickel. Then ca 15 hyperaccumulator plants (genus Alyssum, Leptoplax and Bornmuellera) collected in Greece or Albania have been compared, in the objective of phytomining. Nickel concentrations were measured in the plant organs and in the ashes after combustion. The three types of plants are of great interest for the technology, they contain 1 to 3 wt % of nickel and the ashes 15 to 20%. The hydrometallurgical process of ANSH production was investigated step by step to optimize each step to produce a salt of high purity, to decrease materials and energy consumption and to minimize effluent and waste production. The process was thus improved. Eventually, new ideas have been tested for new processes and nickel products. The obtained results and the current dynamics prove the interest of phytomining and announce its imminent development

Trichogramma carverae Oatman and Pinto is mass-released for biological control of the leafroller pest, light brown apple moth, Epiphyas postvittana (Walker) in Australian vineyards. Parasitoid performance can, however, be constrained by a lack of suitable adult food and no information is available on the effect of nectar on the parasitism and longevity of T. carverae. To address this, the effect of alyssum, Lobularia maritima (L.) flowers on E. postvittana parasitism was studied in a vineyard experiment with and without releases of T. carverae. Egg parasitoid activity was assessed with E. postvittana egg �sentinel cards� and no parasitism was recorded in plots without T. carverae releases. Where T. carverae were released, there was no significant enhancement of parasitism by the presence of L. maritima flowers. Three hypotheses were subsequently tested to account for the lack of an effect: (i) T. carverae does not benefit from L. maritima nectar, (ii) T. carverae was feeding on nectar from other flowering plants (weeds) present in the vineyard, (iii) T. carverae was feeding on sugars from ripe grapes. A growth-cabinet experiment using potted L. maritima plants with and without flowers did not support hypothesis one. No parasitism was recorded after day two for T. carverae caged without flowers whilst parasitism occured until day eight in the presence of flowers. A laboratory experiment with common vineyard weeds (Trifolium repens, Hypochoeris radicata, Echium plantagineum) as well as L. maritima did not support hypothesis one but gave partial support to hypothesis two. Survival of T. carverae was enhanced to a small but statistically significant extent in vials with intact flowers of L. maritima, white clover (T. repens) and catsear (H. radicata) but not in vials with flowering shoots of these species from which flowers and flowering buds had been removed. Paterson�s curse (E. plantagineum) flowers had no effect on T. carverae survival. In a laboratory study, punctured grapes significantly enhanced T. carverae survival compared with a treatment without grapes, supporting hypothesis three. Trichogramma carverae performance in the field experiment was probably also constrained by relatively cool and wet weather. Further work on the enhancement of T. carverae efficacy by L. maritima and other carbohydrate sources is warranted. Greenhouse and field experiments were conducted to investigate whether T. carverae benefit from different groundcover plant species. Ten T. carverae adults (<24h after eclosion) were caged with different groundcover species and a control with no plant materials. Epiphyas postvittana egg sentinel cards were used to measure parasitism and longevity was recorded visually. Survival and realised parasitism of T. carverae was significantly higher in L. maritima than in Brassica juncea, Coriandrum sativum, shoots of these species from which flowers had been removed and nil control treatments. A similar experiment with Fagopyrum esculentum (with- and without-flowers) and a control treatment showed that survival was significantly higher in intact F. esculentum than in without-flower and control treatments. There was no significant treatment effect on parasitism in the early stages of that experiment, though parasitism was recorded in the presence of F. esculentum flowers for 12 days, compared with 6 days in other treatments. Higher parasitism was observed in intact Borago officinalis than in the flowerless shoot, water only and no plant material control treatments in a third experiment. There was no significant treatment effect on parasitism. Fitted exponential curves for survival data differed significantly in curvature in the first, second and third experiments but the slope was a non-significant parameter in the second and third experiments. In a second series of laboratory experiments, one male and one female T. carverae were caged with groundcover species to investigate male and female longevity and daily fecundity. Both male and female longevity in F. esculentum and L. maritima treatments were significantly higher than on shoots of these species from which flowers had been removed, and than in the control treatments. Daily fecundity was significantly greater in the intact L. maritima treatment than in all other treatments. Fitted exponential curves for daily fecundity differed significantly in position and slope but not in curvature. There was no significant treatment effect on longevity or parasitism when a male and female were caged with intact B. juncea, B. officinalis or without-flower of these species, nor in the treatment with no plant materials. No parasitism was observed in a survey of naturally occurring egg parasitoids on two sites close to Orange and Canowindra in New South Wales, illustrating the importance of mass releases of T. carverae in biological control of E. postvittana. In an experiment on the Canowindra site, parasitism was significantly higher on day one and day two after T. carverae release when with-flower treatments were compared with without-flower treatments. Parasitism was significantly higher in the F. esculentum treatment than in C. sativum, L. maritima, vegetation without-flowers and control treatments on these dates. On day five, parasitism was higher in C. sativum than in all other treatments. There was no significant increase in parasitism in a second experiment conducted on the Orange site. Coriandrum sativum, F. esculentum and L. maritima appear to be suitable adult food sources for T. carverae and offer some scope for habitat manipulation in vineyards The adults of many parasitoid species require nectar for optimal fitness but very little is known about flower recognition. Flight cage experiments showed that the adults of T. carverae benefited from L. maritima bearing white flowers to a greater extent than was the case for light pink, dark pink or purple flowered cultivars, despite all cultivars producing nectar. Survival and realised parasitism on non-white flowers were no greater than when the parasitoids were caged on L. maritima shoots from which flowers had been removed. The possibility that differences between L. maritima cultivars were due to factors other than flower colour, such as nectar quality, was excluded by dyeing white L. maritima flowers by placing the roots of the plants in 5% food dye (blue or pink) solution. Survival of T. carverae was lower on dyed L. maritima flowers than on undyed white flowers. Mixing the same dyes with honey in a third experiment conducted in the dark showed that the low level of feeding on dyed flowers was unlikely to be the result of olfactory or gustatory cues. Flower colour appears, therefore, to be a critical factor in the choice of plants used to enhance biological control, and is likely to also be a factor in the role parasitoids play in structuring invertebrate communities. Provision of nectar producing plants to increase the effectiveness of biological control is one aspect of habitat manipulation, but care needs to be taken to avoid the use of plant species that may benefit pest species. Greenhouse experiments were conducted to investigate whether the adult E. postvittana and larvae benefit from nectar producing groundcover species. Newly emerged E. postvittana adults were caged with different groundcover species and a honey-based artificial adult diet. The longevity of male and female E. postvittana when caged with shoots of borage (B. officinalis) and buckwheat (F. esculentum) bearing flowers was as long as when fed a honey-based artificial diet. This effect was not evident when caged with shoots of these plants from which flowers had been removed. Longevity was significantly lower than in the artificial diet treatment when caged with coriander (C. sativum) or alyssum (L. maritima) irrespective of whether flowers were present or not. There was no significant treatment effect on the lifetime fecundity of E. postvittana. A second experiment with mustard (B. juncea) (with- and without-flowers), water only and honey-based artificial adult diet showed no significant treatment effects on the longevity of male and female E. postvittana or on the lifetime fecundity of E. postvittana. The anomalous lack of a difference between the water and honey-based diet treatments precludes making conclusions on the value of B. juncea for E. postvittana. Two greenhouse experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of groundcover species on the larval development of E. postvittana. In the first experiment, larval mortality was significantly higher in C. sativum, and L. maritima than in B. juncea, B. officinalis and white clover (T. repens) a known host of E. postvittana. Coriandrum sativum and L. maritima extended the larval period. In B. juncea and B. officinalis, mortality did not differ from that in T. repens. In F. esculentum, larval mortality was significantly higher than in T. repens. A short larval period was observed on B. juncea, B. officinalis and F. esculentum. Fitted exponential curves for larval mortality differed significantly in curvature between plant treatments. Similarly, successful pupation was significantly lower in C. sativum, F. esculentum and L. maritima than in T. repens. The percentage of successful pupation in B. juncea and B. officinalis did not differ from F. esculentum and T. repens. Fitted exponential curves for pupation differed significantly in curvature. A similar trend was observed in a second experiment with potted plants. The overall results suggest that C. sativum and L. maritima denied benefit to E. postvittana adults and larvae, so could be planted as vineyard groundcover with minimal risk of exacerbating this pest. Overall results suggest that T. carverae require nutrients to reach their full reproductive potential and flowers provide such nutrients. Lobularia maritima and C. sativum may be considered �selective food plants� for T. carverae whereas F. esculentum appears to be a �non-selective food plant�; both T. carverae and E. postvittana benefited from it. Fruits such as grapes can be used as food resources in habitat manipulation and this merits further research. This result also suggests that within species flower colour is an important factor for flower selection in habitat manipulation.

Trichogramma carverae Oatman and Pinto is mass-released for biological control of the leafroller pest, light brown apple moth, Epiphyas postvittana (Walker) in Australian vineyards. Parasitoid performance can, however, be constrained by a lack of suitable adult food and no information is available on the effect of nectar on the parasitism and longevity of T. carverae. To address this, the effect of alyssum, Lobularia maritima (L.) flowers on E. postvittana parasitism was studied in a vineyard experiment with and without releases of T. carverae. Egg parasitoid activity was assessed with E. postvittana egg �sentinel cards� and no parasitism was recorded in plots without T. carverae releases. Where T. carverae were released, there was no significant enhancement of parasitism by the presence of L. maritima flowers. Three hypotheses were subsequently tested to account for the lack of an effect: (i) T. carverae does not benefit from L. maritima nectar, (ii) T. carverae was feeding on nectar from other flowering plants (weeds) present in the vineyard, (iii) T. carverae was feeding on sugars from ripe grapes. A growth-cabinet experiment using potted L. maritima plants with and without flowers did not support hypothesis one. No parasitism was recorded after day two for T. carverae caged without flowers whilst parasitism occured until day eight in the presence of flowers. A laboratory experiment with common vineyard weeds (Trifolium repens, Hypochoeris radicata, Echium plantagineum) as well as L. maritima did not support hypothesis one but gave partial support to hypothesis two. Survival of T. carverae was enhanced to a small but statistically significant extent in vials with intact flowers of L. maritima, white clover (T. repens) and catsear (H. radicata) but not in vials with flowering shoots of these species from which flowers and flowering buds had been removed. Paterson�s curse (E. plantagineum) flowers had no effect on T. carverae survival. In a laboratory study, punctured grapes significantly enhanced T. carverae survival compared with a treatment without grapes, supporting hypothesis three. Trichogramma carverae performance in the field experiment was probably also constrained by relatively cool and wet weather. Further work on the enhancement of T. carverae efficacy by L. maritima and other carbohydrate sources is warranted. Greenhouse and field experiments were conducted to investigate whether T. carverae benefit from different groundcover plant species. Ten T. carverae adults (<24h after eclosion) were caged with different groundcover species and a control with no plant materials. Epiphyas postvittana egg sentinel cards were used to measure parasitism and longevity was recorded visually. Survival and realised parasitism of T. carverae was significantly higher in L. maritima than in Brassica juncea, Coriandrum sativum, shoots of these species from which flowers had been removed and nil control treatments. A similar experiment with Fagopyrum esculentum (with- and without-flowers) and a control treatment showed that survival was significantly higher in intact F. esculentum than in without-flower and control treatments. There was no significant treatment effect on parasitism in the early stages of that experiment, though parasitism was recorded in the presence of F. esculentum flowers for 12 days, compared with 6 days in other treatments. Higher parasitism was observed in intact Borago officinalis than in the flowerless shoot, water only and no plant material control treatments in a third experiment. There was no significant treatment effect on parasitism. Fitted exponential curves for survival data differed significantly in curvature in the first, second and third experiments but the slope was a non-significant parameter in the second and third experiments. In a second series of laboratory experiments, one male and one female T. carverae were caged with groundcover species to investigate male and female longevity and daily fecundity. Both male and female longevity in F. esculentum and L. maritima treatments were significantly higher than on shoots of these species from which flowers had been removed, and than in the control treatments. Daily fecundity was significantly greater in the intact L. maritima treatment than in all other treatments. Fitted exponential curves for daily fecundity differed significantly in position and slope but not in curvature. There was no significant treatment effect on longevity or parasitism when a male and female were caged with intact B. juncea, B. officinalis or without-flower of these species, nor in the treatment with no plant materials. No parasitism was observed in a survey of naturally occurring egg parasitoids on two sites close to Orange and Canowindra in New South Wales, illustrating the importance of mass releases of T. carverae in biological control of E. postvittana. In an experiment on the Canowindra site, parasitism was significantly higher on day one and day two after T. carverae release when with-flower treatments were compared with without-flower treatments. Parasitism was significantly higher in the F. esculentum treatment than in C. sativum, L. maritima, vegetation without-flowers and control treatments on these dates. On day five, parasitism was higher in C. sativum than in all other treatments. There was no significant increase in parasitism in a second experiment conducted on the Orange site. Coriandrum sativum, F. esculentum and L. maritima appear to be suitable adult food sources for T. carverae and offer some scope for habitat manipulation in vineyards The adults of many parasitoid species require nectar for optimal fitness but very little is known about flower recognition. Flight cage experiments showed that the adults of T. carverae benefited from L. maritima bearing white flowers to a greater extent than was the case for light pink, dark pink or purple flowered cultivars, despite all cultivars producing nectar. Survival and realised parasitism on non-white flowers were no greater than when the parasitoids were caged on L. maritima shoots from which flowers had been removed. The possibility that differences between L. maritima cultivars were due to factors other than flower colour, such as nectar quality, was excluded by dyeing white L. maritima flowers by placing the roots of the plants in 5% food dye (blue or pink) solution. Survival of T. carverae was lower on dyed L. maritima flowers than on undyed white flowers. Mixing the same dyes with honey in a third experiment conducted in the dark showed that the low level of feeding on dyed flowers was unlikely to be the result of olfactory or gustatory cues. Flower colour appears, therefore, to be a critical factor in the choice of plants used to enhance biological control, and is likely to also be a factor in the role parasitoids play in structuring invertebrate communities. Provision of nectar producing plants to increase the effectiveness of biological control is one aspect of habitat manipulation, but care needs to be taken to avoid the use of plant species that may benefit pest species. Greenhouse experiments were conducted to investigate whether the adult E. postvittana and larvae benefit from nectar producing groundcover species. Newly emerged E. postvittana adults were caged with different groundcover species and a honey-based artificial adult diet. The longevity of male and female E. postvittana when caged with shoots of borage (B. officinalis) and buckwheat (F. esculentum) bearing flowers was as long as when fed a honey-based artificial diet. This effect was not evident when caged with shoots of these plants from which flowers had been removed. Longevity was significantly lower than in the artificial diet treatment when caged with coriander (C. sativum) or alyssum (L. maritima) irrespective of whether flowers were present or not. There was no significant treatment effect on the lifetime fecundity of E. postvittana. A second experiment with mustard (B. juncea) (with- and without-flowers), water only and honey-based artificial adult diet showed no significant treatment effects on the longevity of male and female E. postvittana or on the lifetime fecundity of E. postvittana. The anomalous lack of a difference between the water and honey-based diet treatments precludes making conclusions on the value of B. juncea for E. postvittana. Two greenhouse experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of groundcover species on the larval development of E. postvittana. In the first experiment, larval mortality was significantly higher in C. sativum, and L. maritima than in B. juncea, B. officinalis and white clover (T. repens) a known host of E. postvittana. Coriandrum sativum and L. maritima extended the larval period. In B. juncea and B. officinalis, mortality did not differ from that in T. repens. In F. esculentum, larval mortality was significantly higher than in T. repens. A short larval period was observed on B. juncea, B. officinalis and F. esculentum. Fitted exponential curves for larval mortality differed significantly in curvature between plant treatments. Similarly, successful pupation was significantly lower in C. sativum, F. esculentum and L. maritima than in T. repens. The percentage of successful pupation in B. juncea and B. officinalis did not differ from F. esculentum and T. repens. Fitted exponential curves for pupation differed significantly in curvature. A similar trend was observed in a second experiment with potted plants. The overall results suggest that C. sativum and L. maritima denied benefit to E. postvittana adults and larvae, so could be planted as vineyard groundcover with minimal risk of exacerbating this pest. Overall results suggest that T. carverae require nutrients to reach their full reproductive potential and flowers provide such nutrients. Lobularia maritima and C. sativum may be considered �selective food plants� for T. carverae whereas F. esculentum appears to be a �non-selective food plant�; both T. carverae and E. postvittana benefited from it. Fruits such as grapes can be used as food resources in habitat manipulation and this merits further research. This result also suggests that within species flower colour is an important factor for flower selection in habitat manipulation.

In this study, buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench) and alyssum (Lobularia maritima (L.)) flowers were used to examine the effect of floral resources on the efficacy of the leafroller parasitoid Dolichogenidea tasmanica (Cameron) in vineyards. This was done by assessing the influence of these flowers on parasitoid abundance and parasitism rate, and by investigating the consequences of this for leafroller abundance. In laboratory experiments, alyssum flowers were used to investigate the effect of floral food on the longevity, fecundity and sex ratio of D. tasmanica. Dolichogenidea tasmanica comprised more than 95 % of parasitoids reared from field collected leafrollers in this study. The abundance of D. tasmanica during the 1999-2000 growing season was very low compared with previous studies, possibly due to the very low abundance of its leafroller hosts during the experiment. The number of males of this species on yellow sticky traps was increased (although not significantly) when buckwheat flowers were planted in a Marlborough vineyard; however, the number of female D. tasmanica on traps was no greater with flowers than without. The abundance of another leafroller parasitoid, Glyptapanteles demeter (Wilkinson)(Hymenoptera: Braconidae), on traps was also not significantly affected by the presence of buckwheat flowers, although females of this species were caught in greater numbers in the control than in buckwheat plots. Naturally-occurring leafrollers were collected from three vineyard sites in Marlborough, and one in Canterbury during the 2000-2001 season to assess the effect of buckwheat and alyssum flowers on parasitism rate. Parasitism rate more than doubled in the presence of buckwheat at one of the Marlborough vineyards, but alyssum had no effect on parasitism rate in Canterbury. A leafroller release/recover method, used when naturally-occurring leafrollers were too scarce to collect, was unable to detect any effect of buckwheat or alyssum on parasitism rate. Mean parasitism rates of approximately 20 % were common in Marlborough, although rates ranged from 0 % to 45 % across the three vineyard sites in that region. In Canterbury in April, mean parasitism rates were approximately 40 % (Chapter 4). Rates were higher on upper canopy leaves (40-60 %) compared with lower canopy leaves and bunches (0-25 %). Leafroller abundance was apparently not affected by the presence of buckwheat in Marlborough, or alyssum in Canterbury. Buckwheat did, however, significantly reduce the amount of leafroller evidence (webbed leafroller feeding sites on leaves or in bunches) in Marlborough, suggesting that the presence of these flowers may reduce leafroller populations. Leafrollers infested less than 0.1 % of Cabernet Sauvignon leaves throughout the 1999-2000 growing season, but increased in abundance in bunches to infest a maximum of 0.5 % of bunches in late March in Marlborough. In Pinot Noir vines in the 2000-2001 season, leafroller abundance was also low, although sampling was not conducted late in the season when abundance reaches a peak. In Riesling vines in Canterbury, between 1.5 % and 2.5 % of bunches were infested with leafrollers in April. In the laboratory, alyssum flowers significantly increased the longevity and lifetime fecundity of D. tasmanica compared with a no-flower treatment. However, daily fecundity was not increased by the availability of food, suggesting that the greater lifetime fecundity was related to increases in longevity. Parasitoids were also able to obtain nutrients from whitefly honeydew, which resulted in similar longevity and daily fecundity to those when alyssum flowers were present. The availability of food had a significant effect on the offspring sex ratio of D. tasmanica. Parasitoids reared from naturally-occurring leafrollers produced an equal sex ratio, assumed to be the evolutionarily stable strategy (ESS) for this species. In the laboratory, this ESS was observed only when parasitoids had access to alyssum flowers. Without food, or with honeydew only, sex ratios were strongly male-biased. In the field, floral resources affected the sex ratio of D. tasmanica only when this species was reared from leafrollers released and recovered in Marlborough. In that experiment, buckwheat shifted the sex ratio in favour of female production from the equal sex ratio found in control plots. No firm explanations can be given to account for these results, due to a lack of research in this area. Possible mechanisms for the changes in sex ratio with flowers are discussed. This study demonstrated that flowers are an important source of nutrients for D. tasmanica, influencing the longevity, fecundity and offspring sex ratio of this species. However, only some of the field experiments were able to show any positive effect of the provision of floral resources on parasitoid abundance or parasitism rate. More information is needed on the role these parasitoids, and other natural enemies, play in regulating leafroller populations in New Zealand vineyards, and on how they use floral resources in the field, before recommendations can be made regarding the adoption of this technology by growers.