Studies on Marietta leopardina Motschulsky (Hymenoptera:Aphelinidae) and Chartocerus sp. (Hymenoptera: Signiphoridae), Hyperparasitoids of Papaya Mealybug Parasitoid, Acerophagus papayae Noyes & Schauff (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae)

Abstract

Acerophagus papayae Noyes & Schauff, a solitary endoparasitoid of Paracoccus marginatus William Granara DeWillink which parasitizes the early stage nymphs was released in India during 2010 for biological control of papaya mealybug. It could substantially reduce the incidence of P. marginatus within a span of 6-8 months. There were no parasitoids reported on A. papayae so far from any part of the world. Marietta leopardina and Chartocerus sp. hyperparasitoids of other mealybugs recorded in India were for the first time found to parasitize A. papayae by upto 1.25 per cent and 1.09% respectively. Under laboratory rearing, the time required for emergence of M. leopardina was found to be 12-16 days and that of Chartocerus sp was 12-15 days.