Biological Control of Insect Pests: Southeast Asian Prospects - EcoPort

4.2 Anomis flava 29
CHINA
Since 1970 the cultivation of bluish dogbane (Apocynum venotum) has
increased greatly in Zhejiang Province, where A. flava is its most important
pest and 43.7% of semilooper larvae were parasitised. There were two
braconids, Apanteles anomidis (27.5% parasitisation) and Meteorus
pulchricornis (4.9%); two ichneumonids, Charops bicolor (10 to 15%) and
Mesochorus sp. (2.4%); and an unidentified species (0.54%). Mesochorus
sp. acted as a hyperparasitoid of Apanteles anomidis, but itself parasitised
about 1% of A. flava larvae (Xie 1984).
Trichogramma chilonis was reared from the eggs of A. flava on cotton in
Shanxi (Huo et al. 1988). Inoculative releases of T. dendrolimi in vegetable
gardens adjacent to cotton fields infested with A. flava resulted in 61 to 81%
parasitisation of its eggs. By comparison, in pesticide-treated fields nearby,
parasitisation ranged from 2.5 to 30%. Inundative releases directly in cotton
fields led to 30 to 80% parasitisation and no additional control measures
were required (Wang et al. 1985, 1988).
Polistes jokahamae and Polistes sp. were observed in Hunan Province
preying on A. flava, the late instar larvae being preferred (Anon. 1976a).
In Hubei Province, the earwig predator Euborellia pallipes was reported
to reduce A. flava larval populations by 38 to 65% (Yang 1985a).
INDIA
Although A. flava is generally a minor pest, serious outbreaks occur
sporadically. In Hyderabad State more than 1.5 million acres of cotton were
affected in one outbreak, with up to 30 larvae per plant consuming
everything except branches and bolls. Large numbers of the common mynah
were reported eating the larvae (Khan 1956). In Mysore 70% of A. flava
larvae on cotton in the field were parasitised by tachinid flies and Apanteles
spp. In the laboratory, eggs were attacked by Trichogramma minutum and
pupae by Tetrastichus howardi (Maheswariah and Puttarudiah 1956).
MADAGASCAR
The non-specific Brachymeria multicolor was recorded as producing more
than 95% parasitisation of A. flava larvae on cotton (Steffan 1958; Delattre
1973). B. madecassa was also credited with 50 to 90% parasitisation of
larvae in 1956 and 1957 (Vaissayre 1977).
NEPAL
The most important parasitoid of A. flava larvae, Meteorus sp. nr fragilis
(Braconidae), was responsible for 50 and 69.4% parasitisation in 1973 and
1974 respectively. There were no pupal parasitoids (Neupane 1977).