Effect of Native and Non-native Hosts on the Biology of <I>Acerophagus papayae</I> Noyes and Schauff, the Introduced Parasitoid of <I>Paracoccus marginatus</I> Williams and Granara De Willink

Abstract

The bioecology study of any parasitoid using alternative hosts imposes divergent selection pressures on parasitoid populations. In this study, we investigated the bioecology potential of parasitoid <em>Acerophagus papayae</em> Noyes and Schauff on papaya mealybug <em>Paracoccus marginatus</em> Williams and Granara De Willink from different plant hosts. The parameters studied were adult longevity (survival of progeny), fecundity and productivity of female mealybugs and sex ratio of progenies of <em>P. marginatus</em>. The results showed significant differences in bioecology of parasitoid on their natal host (<em>P. marginatus</em> from papaya) compared with the non-natal hosts (<em>P. marginatus</em> from non papaya hosts). It is also compared with honey concentration solution and potato sprouts. The parasitoid is well adapted to the natal host that is papaya compared to others host. However, parasitoids showed a similar high fitness on both natal and non natal hosts. This results could be used to increase the effectiveness of biological control programme on different views.