Tritrophic interactions between host plants, the cassava mealybug Phenacoccus manihoti Matile-Ferrero (Horn., Pseudococcidae) and its parasitoid Apoanagyrus lopezi De Santis (Hym., Encyrtidae)

• Published in: Journal of applied entomology (1986) Vol. 122; no. 1-5; pp. 561 - 564
• Main Authors: Souissi, R., Nenon, J. P., Rü, B. Le
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-12-1998; Blackwell
• Subjects: Apoanagyrus lopezi; Biological and medical sciences; Biological control; Control; Encyrtidae; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Homoptera; Manihot; Phenacoccus manihoti; Phytopathology. Animal pests. Plant and forest protection; Protozoa. Invertebrates; Pseudococcidae; Host parasite relation; Insecta; Biological control; Tritrophic system; Pest; Entomophagous; Homoptera; Pest management; Beneficial animal; Chalcidoidea; Dicotyledones; Epidinocarsis lopezi; Host plant; Angiospermae; Phenacoccus manihoti; Euphorbiaceae; Parasitism rate; Laboratory study; Manihot esculenta; Tropical crop; Coccoidea; Parasitoid; Encyrtidae; Arthropoda; Pseudococcidae; Spermatophyta; Tuber plant; Hymenoptera; Invertebrata
• ISSN: 0931-2048; 1439-0418
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0418.1998.tb01545.x

: The influence of the host plant on the parsitism of third instar Phenacoccus manihoti Matile‐Ferrero by Apoanagyrus (Epidinocarsis) lopezi De Santis, was investigated under laboratory conditions. Four different host plants were used: two cassava varieties (Incoza and Zanaga, Manihot esculenta Crantz, Euphorbiaceae), the Faux caoutchouc (FC) (a hybrid of M. esculenta and Manihot glaziovii, Euphorbiaceae) and Talinum (Talinum triangularae Jack., Portulacaceae). The percentage of parasitism of P. manihoti by A. lopezi varied significantly between host plants and was 1.5 to 1.8 higher on Talinum than on the plants of the Manihot genus. The parasitism on Incoza did not differ from the one on Zanaga but was significantly higher than that on FC. The percentage of mummified hosts also differed among the four plants and was lower on FC (80.5%) than on the others. A significantly lower percentage of emerged parasitoids (69.5%) was recorded with the Incoza variety, which was the most resistant cassava plant. The total mealybug mortality due to parasitoid activity was significantly higher on Talinum than on the others. The results for the Manihot plants suggest that the probability of achieving successful augmentative biological control will be greater on the plants of the M. esculenta species despite lower A. lopezi survival on Incoza due to its high level of antibiosis resistance. Talinum would be a better host plant for a mass rearing of the host and the parasitoid in the laboratory.