Morphological and molecular diagnosis of platygastrid parasitoid, Allotropa sp. near phenacocca (Hymenoptera) from India and its performance on cotton mealybug, Phenacoccus solenopsis

Cotton mealybug, Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley (Coccomorpha: Pseudococcidae) is an invasive sucking pest native to North America, has spread to Central America, and various Asian countries where it extensively damaging several agri-horticultural crops. Following invasion of this pest, several native as well as exotic natural enemies have been discovered and reported viz., Aenasius arizonensis (Girault), Allotropa phenacocca, Cheiloneurus sp., Bothriothorax sp., Marietta sp., and Chartocerus sp. etc., among which, A. phenacocca is one of such primary solitary endoparasitoid of P. solenopsis reported from China (Chen et al., Oriental Insects, 45(2–3), 275–280, 2011). However, in the present study we report a morphologically similar species of Allotropa near phenacocca from India. The molecular analysis of the COI gene of this morphovariant (Accession number- OQ451869) showed 89.81% similarity with the closely allied A. phenacocca (Accession number- MT775809) from China. Morphometric and biological parameters of parasitoid revealed that the adult females were black in color and ranged in length from 0.74 to 1.17 mm. Antenna of female was 9 segmented; A7 and A8 extended and its average length was 0.45 ± 0.012 mm. Mesosoma is reticulate and densely setose. Adult males were also black in colour and measured 0.70 to 0.95 mm in length. During its lifespan, the female parasitized 26 to 113 mealybugs with a mean of 72 ± 8.51 and the average developmental period was 26.54 ± 0.67 days. This report document the newfound parasitoid of P. solenopsis, highlighting its potential for efficiently controlling cotton mealybug populations. Notably, this parasitoid exhibits a preference for targeting the early stages of mealybugs, thereby impeding their progression into the most destructive stages, namely the third instar and adult forms.