Euplectrus laphygmae as a Potential Biological Control Agent in Eastern Ethiopia

Abstract

The biology of the eulophid Eupletctrus laphygmae (Ferriere) was studied at Alemaya, eastern Ethiopia. Females laid 1-13 eggs on the second to fourth instar larvae of Helicoverpa armigera, Plusia spp, Spodoptera exempta and on an unidentified noctuid attacking Vernonia galamensis. The average duration of the incubation period, larval, pupal and adult stages were 2.1, 1.7, 6.2 and 4.5 days, respectively, in the laboratory. The ability to locate different hosts in different plants, ability to attack early larval instars and to produce as many as 20 generations in one season are among the useful features of E. laphygmae that makes it a potential candidate for biological control of lepidopterous larvae.