Abstract

Coffee green scales,Coccus celatus De Lotto andC. viridis (Green), are major pests of coffee in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Surveys for insect natural enemies of coffee green scales were conducted in Kenya to find species suitable for introduction to PNG. Natural enemy communities in Kenya were found to be diverse, particularly those located in the central highlands where 3 primary parasitoids,Metaphycus stanleyi Compere,M. baruensis Noyes andDiversinervus stramineus Compere (Encyrtidae), were dominant onC. celatus andC. alpinus De Lotto. It is suggested that these 3 parasitoids may be potential biological control agents forC. celatus. Several insect predators were found associated withC. celatus in the central highlands but most were only common in ant-free scale populations. An aphelinid primary parasitoid,Coccophagus rusti Compere, was the only natural enemy ofC. viridis located. This species, however, could be of potential as a biological control agent, especially in view of its previous use in biological control against soft scales.

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