Acerophagus papayae (parasitoid)

Acerophagus • Encyrtidae • Chalcidoidea (parasitoids) • Hymenoptera parasitoids • Beneficials/natural enemies

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paratype of Acerophagus papayae
Author(s): Paul Langlois, USDA APHIS
Source: IPM Images

Acerophagus papayae (click on image to enlarge it)
Author(s): Dale E. Meyerdirk, USDA APHIS PPQ
Source: IPM Images

Acerophagus papayae (parasitoid) Noyes & Schauff, 2003

This wasp is native to the Caribbean, Florida (U.S.) and Mexico. It is an important parasitoid of the papaya mealybug (Paracoccus marginatus) and has been introduced into India and other countries against that mealybug, e.g. see Muniappan et al. (2006). The adult wasp is around 1 mm long and yellowish.

The papaya mealybug is native to central America, where it is attacked by several parasitoids. However, compared to the other parasitoids found in that region, A. papayae appears to be particularly efficient (e.g. see Sakthivel, 2013).