Indigenous parasitoids as effective natural enemies of Phyllocnistis citrella (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae) in Korea

Abstract

This study is aimed to investigate the occurrence of Phyllocnistis citrella Stainton (citrus leafminer; CLM), which has recently caused increasing damage to citrus farms in southern South Korea, and its natural enemies, which can act as biological control agents. In the present study, CLM monitoring using sex pheromone traps were conducted in the major citrus farms in the Jeju region in South Korea. Also a survey of parasites was carried out to detect the effective control agent for CLM. During the investigation from 2011 to 2015, a relatively large number of adult CLM (2,386,990) were observed in the sex pheromone traps. The mean annual occurrence of CLM was 477,398, which showed an increasing trend with the increase in temperature. A survey of parasites was conducted in November 2015. Six parasites were found, of which, Quadrastichus sp. and Sympiesis sp. showed the highest rates of parasitism. The mean rate of parasitism during the survey period was 3.97 %. We discovered four new species of parasites of CLM in South Korea.