Parasitic Forms of Halictophagus sp. (Strepsiptera:Halictophagidae) Infesting the Mango Leafhopper, Idioscopus clypealis (Leth) (Hemiptera:Cicadellidae)

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The various stages of Halictophagus sp., a strepsipteron parasitoid of the mango leafhopper ldioscopus clypealis (Lethierry), collected over a one-year period were identified and described. Several hundreds to more than a thousand globular white eggs were present in the ovisac of a highly reproductive neotenic female which remains attached to the host. The eggs hatched into first instar larvae or triungulins which exhibited two forms, the C-shaped female with posterior spines and the tubular males without the spines. The tubular males predominate over the C-shaped females at 1.6:1.0 ratio. The neotenic female larviposits the triungulins within the vicinity of potential hopper hosts. The triungulins penetrate the host and develop inside the host abdomen. Two forms of endoparasitic larvae were observed: one was the hard dark-brown C-shaped female larva and the other was the hard dark brown tubular male larva. The latter developed into a soft creamy-white larva which showed hardening and tanning of its anterior region when full grown and before extruding as cephalotheca. On the other hand, a small area along the ventral region of the host abdomen darkens ( dark spot) to indicate a soon to extrude female cephalothorax. The extruded parasitoids had 1.3 cephalotheca: 1.0 cephalothorax ratio. The parasitoid was extrapolated as completing Jts life cycle in 4 months and having two to three overlapping generation cycles in a year.