Exploring the abundance and DNA barcode information of eight parasitoid wasps species (Hymenoptera), the natural enemies of the important pest of oil palm, bagworm, Metisa plana (Lepidoptera: Psychidae) toward the biocontrol approach and it's application in Malaysia

Abstract

Abstract Parasitoid wasps (Hymenoptera) play a significant role in reducing the pest population of the bagworm species Metisa plana. This study presents the abundance and DNA barcoding information of eight parasitoid wasps species, Dolichogenidea metesae (47%), Brachymeria carinata (19%), Buysmania oxymora (12%), Goryphus bunoh (7%), Pediobius anomalus (5%), Eupelmus cotoxanthae (2%), Apanteles aluella (5%), Apanteles sp.1 (3%) and that emerged from M. plana collected from three highly infested oil palm plantations in Selangor (west), Perak (north) and Johor (south) in Peninsular Malaysia. Samples of infested M. plana were collected from the field and reared in a rearing room. The parasitoid wasp species D. metesae recorded the highest emergence numbers and the broadest presence in all the sampling sites. The relationships among the parasitoids species were estimated and visualized using Neighbor Joining (NJ) phylogenetic analyses with the Ceraphronidae family as an outgroup. The resulting NJ tree showed that the identified parasitoid wasps were successfully classified into specific species and supported with bootstraps values between 55% to 100%. This study provides important information on potential biological control agents for M. plana that may be useful for the Malaysian oil palm industry.