Journal of Biological Control

First report of Encarsia dispersa Polaszek (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) as a parasitoid of rugose spiralling whitefly, Aleurodicus rugioperculatus Martin (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), a recent invasive pest in India, with notes on its predators


Affiliations

  • ICAR-National Research Centre for Banana, Trichy, Tamil Nadu, 620102, India

Abstract

Encarsia dispersa Polaszek (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae), an exotic parasitoid fortuitously introduced in India in the late 1990s along with spiralling whitefly, Aleurodicus dispersus Russell (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), is reported here as a parasitoid of the rugose spiralling whitefly, Aleurodicus rugioperculatus Martin, a recent invasive pest in India. This is the first report of this host association for E. dispersa, a parasitoid of many species of Aleurodicus in its native geographic range. This marks the reappearance of E. dispersa in South India more than a decade after its total displacement by E. guadeloupae. Predators of the rugose spiralling whitefly observed on banana in Tamil Nadu and Kerala are also listed.

Keywords

Encarsia dispersa, India, predators, rugose spiralling whitefly

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References

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