M. Rathe ¹, P. Ram ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of Entomology, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar-125004, Haryana, IN

Abstract

Aenasius bambawalei Hayat (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) is a solitary nymphal endoparasitoid of Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), an important pest of cotton in Haryana. The present study on the effect of cold storage on some biological characteristics of A. bambawalei was carried out by storing one-day-old mummies of P. solenopsis (i.e. parasitoid in pupal stage) for 1 to 8 weeks at four storage temperatures viz., 5, 10, 15 and 20°C at 75 per cent relative humidity. Emergence of the parasitoid adults from mummies occurred within first week during storage at 20°C, hence, this temperature was judged unsuitable for cold storage. The parasitoid A. bambawalei could be stored for one week at 5°C and for two weeks each at 10 and 15°C, without any significant effect on emergence, longevity, fecundity and per cent females emerging in F₁ progeny. At the above mentioned temperatures and durations these biological parameters of the parasitoid were comparable with the emergence (100%), longevity (19.60 and 33.20 days for males and females, respectively), fecundity (24.60 mealybugs parasitized per female in five days) and per cent females emerging in F1 progeny (63.12%) recorded in the control (27°C).

Keywords

Aenasius bambawalei, Biological Parameters, Cold Storage, Mummies, Phenacoccus solenopsis, Temperature, Storage Duration.

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