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Influence of the host plant of the cassava mealybug Phenacoccus manihoti (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) on biological characteristics of its parasitoid Apoanagyrus lopezi (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae)
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 July 2009
Abstract
The influence of the host plant of the cassava mealybug, Phenacoccus manihoti Matile Ferrero on the encyrtid parasitoid Apoanagyrus lopezi De Santis was studied in the laboratory. Four different host plants were used: two cultivars of cassava, Manihot esculenta (Euphorbiaceae), cv. Incoza and cv. MM79; Faux caoutchouc, a hybrid of M. esculenta × M glaziovii; and talinum Talinum triangularae (Portulacaceae), a common weed in cassava fields. Plants were selected for different levels of antibiotic resistance to P. manihoti. Mealybug mortality due to host feeding by the adult parasitoid and the percentage of mealybugs parasitized were significantly lower when mealybugs were reared on the Manihot cultivars and hybrid than when reared on talinum. However, the encapsulation rate was significantly lower in P. manihoti reared on talinum. The highest percentage parasitism and the lowest rate of emergence were recorded on cv. Incoza, the most resistant Manihot cultivar. The sex ratio did not vary significantly with the host plant used. The total developmental time and size of male and female progeny of A. lopezi differed significantly between P. manihoti reared on different host plants. Among Manihot plants, parasitoid size was positively correlated with development time and negatively with plant resistance. Results suggest that the parasitoid, A. lopezi, might perform better if cassava cultivars were selected for their strong antixenosis but low antibiotic characteristics.
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- Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1998
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