Abstract
The leafminer, Chromatomyia horticola (Goureau), (Diptera: Agromyzidae) which infests field pea, is exposed to various parasitoids. Observations were made on the seasonal incidence and parasitization of agromyzid leafminer, C.horticola in Pea crop fields at Pantnagar, Uttarakhand (India) during cropping season of the year 2009 to 2010, 2010 to 2011. Leafminer infested leaves were randomly collected from field and maintained at room temperature (25 to 30°C). Number of emerged adult leafminers and parasitoids were recorded to calculate weekly percent parasitisation. The peak period of parasitization in both years was during 9th standard week constituted 71.69 and 68.87% of parasitization, respectively. Three hymenopteran parasitoids were recordedviz., two eulophids (Diglyphus horticola Khan, Diglyphus sp.) and one braconid (Opius sp.). Influence of environmental factors viz., temperature, relative humidity, and rainfall on weekly percent parasitization was non-significant. Key words: Leafminers, agromyzidae, hymenoptera, parasitoids, eulophidae, Diglyphus horticola Khan,Opius sp.
Highlights
Leafminers are insects whose larvae live and feed inside the leaves, consuming the mesophyll without damaging the leaf epidermis
The leaf mining habit has been developed by a group of over 10,000 species of holometabolous insects, concentrated in four orders: Diptera, Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, and Lepidoptera (Connor and Taverner, 1997)
Leafminer-infested leaves were randomly collected from the field were brought to the laboratory and placed in plastic bags/rearing jars covered with muslin cloth
Summary
Leafminers are insects whose larvae live and feed inside the leaves, consuming the mesophyll without damaging the leaf epidermis. Their feeding tracks (“mines”) are externally visible in leaves, as whitish or grey areas with variable shapes that range from narrow linear galleries to wide chambers. The leaf mining habit has been developed by a group of over 10,000 species of holometabolous insects, concentrated in four orders: Diptera, Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, and Lepidoptera (Connor and Taverner, 1997). Due to its hiding nature and resistant development against insecticides makes control measures ineffective. Natural enemies playing major role in suppressing the leafmining insects in field level
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