Morphometric analysis of Trichogramma achaeae Nagaraja and Nagarkatti, an important biological control agent of agriculture and forestry

Abstract

Taxonomy of Trichogramma species is very important for their biological control program. Various researchers have proposed the taxonomic keys based on genitalia but there are other important characters that needs consideration and these have been largely ignored by taxonomists while proposing the taxonomic keys. In the present study, the emphasis is given on morphometry of some important characters including genitalia in Trichogramma achaeae Nagaraja and Nagarkatti. The average body length of both male and female were measured as 0.478 mm and 0.543 mm, respectively, it showed that females are longer than males. Important characters such as head length and width, hind wing length and width, also length of its marginal fringes were measured including setae on RS1, RS2, r-m veins and statistically analyzed for significant differences. Detailed morphometry of T. achaeae is described and discussed.