Natural enemy complex associated with insect pests of acid lime, Citrus aurantifolia
Keywords:
Acid lime, natural enemy complex, green lacewings, coccinellids, spiders, Distatrix papilionis, parasitization, biological controlAbstract
A fixed plot survey was carried out at College of Agriculture, Vijayapura, Karnataka, India during November 2020 to June 2022 to record the natural enemy fauna associated with insect pests of acid lime, Citrus aurantifolia Swingle. During the study, a neuropteran predator green lacewing, Chrysoperla zastrowi sillemi, three species of coccinellids viz., Cheilomenes sexmaculata (F.), Coccinella transversalis F. and Illeis cincta (F.) and several species of spiders viz., Carrhotus viduus (Koch), Telamonia dimidiate (Simon), Thyene imperialis (Rossi), Phintelloides sp. Phintella sp. and Telamonia sp. were noticed to be associated with insect pests of acid lime. In
addition, a braconid parasitoid, Distatrix papilionis was found parasitizing the larvae of citrus butterfly in acid lime orchards. The efforts can be made to utilize these identified natural enemies in biological control of insect pests of acid lime.
