Interaction betweenPhaedrotoma scabriventrisNixon andOpius dissitusMuesebeck (Hymenoptera: Braconidae): Endoparasitoids ofLiriomyzaLeafminer

Abstract

The exotic parasitoid, Phaedrotoma scabriventris Nixon, was imported from Peru for the biological control of invasive Liriomyza species in vegetable and ornamental crops in Kenya where Opius dissitus Muesebeck is the most abundant indigenous Liriomyza parasitoid. Both species are solitary larva-pupal endoparasioids attacking the same larval stage. In order to assess whether these two species compete or co-exist, an interaction study involving sole, sequential and simultaneous releases of the two species on polyphagous Liriomyza huidobrensis (Blanchard) was conducted in the laboratory at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), Nairobi, Kenya. Simultaneous releases of 50 individuals each of the two parasitoids resulted in significantly higher total parasitism rate (61.96±4.60) than in the single release of P. scabriventris (34.94±8.50). Simultaneous release of 25 individuals of each species resulted in a parasitism rate (44.52 ± 2.75) similar to that obtained for single releases o...