Skip to main content
ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Hilo, Hawaii » Daniel K. Inouye U.S. Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center » Tropical Crop and Commodity Protection Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #390832
Research Project: Postharvest Protection of Tropical Commodities for Improved Market Access and Quarantine Security

Location: Tropical Crop and Commodity Protection Research

Title: A low-cost trap to monitor parasitism of macadamia felted coccid (Hemiptera: Eriococcidae) and other scale insects

Author
item PULAKKATU-THODI, I - Orise Fellow
item Acebes-Doria, Angelita
item Follett, Peter

Submitted to: Hawaiian Entomological Society Proceedings
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/6/2022
Publication Date: 3/29/2022
Citation: Pulakkatu-Thodi, I., Acebes, A.L., Follett, P.A. 2022. A low-cost trap to monitor parasitism of macadamia felted coccid (Hemiptera: Eriococcidae) and other scale insects. Hawaiian Entomological Society Proceedings. 54:27-35. http://hdl.handle.net/10125/81748.

Interpretive Summary: Quantifying parasitism rate in the field for tropical insects with continuous overlapping generations can be difficult. A parasitoid emergence trap was developed for scale insects on trees and tested with a new macadamia pest, macadamia felted coccid, in Hawaii. The aphelinid wasp Encarsia lounsburyi was found parasitzing macadamia felted coccid at low levels using the emergence trap. The cost of materials for the trap is about $3.00 and it can be constructed in 15 min. The trap may have use for studying parasitism in other insects that inhabit the surface of trees.

Technical Abstract: We designed and tested a custom-made parasitoid emergence trap that can be installed on macadamia trees in the field to study parasitism of macadamia felted coccid, Acanthococcus ironsidei (Williams) (Hemiptera: Eriococcidae). The cost of materials for the trap is approximately $3.00 each, and a trap can be constructed in about 15 min. Trapping in three macadamia orchards showed macadamia felted coccid parasitism by Encarsia lounsburyi, (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae), with an estimated parasitism rate of 0.24 to 4.85%. The trap was effective in capturing parasitoids and other mobile positively phototactic insects that are present under the covered area of the trap and will be a low-cost option for future parasitoid studies.