Can toxicants used against cotton mealybug Phenacoccus solenopsis be compatible with an encyrtid parasitoid Aenasius bambawalei under laboratory conditions?

Abstract

It is important to ascertain if the insecticide used in an IPM programme has little or no effects on the biological control agent. The cotton mealybug, Phenacoccus solenopsis is a serious pest of various cultivated plants in Pakistan. The parasitoid Aenasius bambawalei has proven successful as a biological control agent of the cotton mealybug. This article investigates the compatibility of neem treatments and a commercial insecticide, imidacloprid on the parasitoid A. bambawalei in the laboratory. Results show that the adult stage of the parasitoid is more susceptible to the commercial insecticide imidacloprid than the concealed pupal stage. Results also suggest that release of the parasitoid should be delayed for at least 1 week after neem treatments. The investigators advise that farmers should avoid integrating imidacloprid in the control of cotton mealybug, because it destroys the parasitoid, which might cause an upsurge. It is partly funded by the UK Department for International Development, a core donor of the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology