Trichospilus diatraeae (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae): A potential biological control agent of lepidopteran pests of oil palm in the Brazilian Amazon

Abstract

The expansion of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) monoculture may favor insect pests such as the caterpillars of Opsiphanes invirae Hübner, Brassolis sophorae L. (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) and Eupalamides cyparissias (Fabricius) (Lepidoptera: Castniidae). The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential of Trichospilus diatraeae Cherian & Margabandhu (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) to parasitize pupae of lepidopteran pests of oil palm. Groups of fifty females of T. diatraeae were maintained inside test tubes with one pupa of one of the following hosts: O. invirae, B. sophorae or E. cyparissias for 48 h. Trichospilus diatraeae parasitized the 3 Lepidopteran species, but reproduced only on O. invirae and B. sophorae. These results suggest that this parasitoid, of polyphagous habit, may represent an alternative for the control of lepidopteran pests of oil palm in the Brazilian Amazon.