Publication Type

Journal Article

Journal Name

Insect Science and its Application

Publication Date

1-1-2001

Abstract

Cotesiaflavipes Cameron (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a gregarious larval endoparasitoid of Cliilo parleUus (Swinhoe) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) and other stemborers in the Indo-Australian region, was released in Mozambique for the first time in 1996. Before its release, countrywide surveys on stemborers and their natural enemies were conducted in several places. However, all led to the same conclusion: that Ch. partellns was the most abundant stemborer at the majority of locations, and that the rate of larval parasitism was very low (< 5 %). To evaluate the effect of stemborer species composition on- the establishment of Co. flavipes, two releases were made at two agroecologically different sites during the 1998/1999 and 1999/2000 growing seasons. Cotesiaflavipes was recovered from all the three stemborer species found at each site during the season of release and a year later. However, the rates of parasitism were very low, ranging from 0.6 to 1.9 % on Cli. partellus, 3.2 % on Sesamia calamislis Hampson (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and 2.6 % on Busseolafiisca Fuller (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). The native natural enemy, Cotesia sesamiae (Cameron) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) was the most common larval parasitoid at the two sites. The recoveries of Co. flavipes during the release period and a year later indicate that this exotic parasitoid has become established at the two locations in the southern and central regipns of Mozambique, in spite of differences in stemborer species composition. However, it is too early to evaluate the impact of Co.flai'ipes on the stemborer populations. © 2001 ICIPE.

Keywords

Biological control, Colesia spp, Establishment, Mozambique, Parasitoids, Stemborers

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