A DISCUSSION OF SOME ECOLOGICAL FACTORS AFFECTING COCCIDENCYRTUS MALLOI BLANCHARD (HYMENOPTERA: ENCYRTIDAE) AS A PARASITOID OF DIASPIDID SCALES UNDER GLASS IN FRANCE

Abstract

A DISCUSSION OF SOME ECOLOGICAL FACTORS AFFECTING COCCIDENCYRTUS MALLOI BLANCHARD (HYMENOPTERA, ENCYRTIDAE) AS A PARASITOID OF DIASPIDID SCALES UNDER GLASS IN FRANCE.

The encyrtid parasitoid Coccidencyrtus malloi Blanchard has been recorded in orchid glasshouses of south-eastern France where its diaspidid host, Diaspis boisduvalii Signoret (Hemiptera, Diaspididae), is sometimes a pest of ornamentals. In order to study its biology and potential as a biological control agent, it was cultured on a bromeliad and released into several hot temperate commercial houses. It was found to have a very restricted distribution which appeared to be determined by deep shade and very high humidities.

Key words: Argentina, Boisduval scale, parasitoid development, thelytokous parthenogenesis, Diaspis bromeliae, D, coccois, Laeliocattleya, Vriesea, Aechmea, Cattleya, Citrullus, Cymbidium, Coccos, Dendrobium, Neodypsis, Hohenbergia.