Taro Colocasia esculenta as an alternative host plant for rearing cassava mealybug (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) and its parasitoid Anagyrus lopezi (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae)

So far, Phenacoccis manihoti (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) has been reared mainly with cassava. To explore alternative host plant for rearing of P. manihoti and its parasitoid Anagyrus lopezi De Santis (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), we examined suitability of taro Colocasia esculenta (L.) (Alismatales: Araceae) for rearing them in the laboratory, which was compared with that of cassava seedling. Either 50 newly hatched mealybug nymphs or parasitized third-instar mealybugs were reared on taro or cassava seedlings to examine immature development, fecundity and longevity of adults. Nearly 90% of P. manihoti reared on taro successfully developed to adults and they produced 230 eggs on average in their lifetime, while insects reared on cassava showed 95% survival and 250 eggs of lifetime fecundity. For A. lopezi , immature survival was 86% and they laid 140 eggs on average on taro, while it was 88% and 140 eggs on cassava. The results suggested that taro can be used for rearing of P. manihoti and its parasitoid A. lopezi .