06 Oca 2025 Pazartesi
Biodiversity of predators and parasitoids of woolly aphids (Eriosomatinae: Aphididae: Hemiptera) and their host plant associations in India
Abstract : The present article enlists the predators and parasitoids of the woolly aphids (Eriosomatinae: Aphididae: Hemiptera) infesting different food plants and their distribution in various states and union territories of India. These predators belong to five orders of the class Insecta: Coleoptera (family Coccinellidae), Dermaptera (Family Forficulidae), Diptera (families Chamaemyiidae, Syrphidae), Hemiptera (families Anthocoridae, Miridae) and Neuroptera (families Chrysopidae, Conioptrygidae, Dilaridae, Hemerobiidae). A total of 76 species of predators from various taxa were recorded to feed 16 species of the woolly aphids on 17 food plant species distributed mostly in northwestern and east western Himalayan states/union territories of India. The highest number of predators belonged to the families Coccinellidae (30 species) and Syrphidae (15 species). Most of the tritrophic associations (triplets, predators-preys-host plants) of these predators were reported in Uttarakhand (89 triplets), Jammu & Kashmir (23 triplets), Himachal Pradesh (16 triplets) and other states/union territories 1-6 triplets. All the parasitoids of woolly aphids belong to two subfamilies Aphelininae (Aphelinidae: Hymenoptera) and Aphidiinae (Braconidae: Hymenoptera) in India. A total of 12 species of parasitoids were observed parasitising these woolly aphids infesting on 12 host plants in 6 states/union territory of India. Most of the tritrophic associations (triplets) of these parasitoids were reported from Jammu & Kashmir (21 triplets), followed by Uttarakhand (7 triplets), Himachal Pradesh (6 triplets), Meghalaya, Punjab and Sikkim (each single triplet). Indeed, minimal attempts have been made to record the natural enemies of the woolly aphids in India, and an intensive and extensive survey plan is warranted to record them in unexplored areas.