Amouroux, P., Crochard, D., Correa, M., Groussier, G., Kreiter, P., Roman, C., Guerrieri, E., Garonna, A.P., Malausa, T., & Zaviezo, T. 2019 Natural enemies of armored scales (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) and soft scales (Hemiptera: Coccidae) in Chile: Molecular and morphological identification. PLoS One 14(3): e0205475

Keywords:

  • biological control
  • natural enemies
  • Notes: Hymenoptera Chalcidoidea includes natural enemies of scale insects that have been successfully used in many biological control programs. However, the correct identification of pest scale species and their natural enemies is particularly challenging because these insects are very small and highly specialized. Integrative taxonomy, coupling DNA barcoding and morphological analysis, has been successfully used to characterize pests and natural enemy species. In this study, we performed a survey of parasitoids and predators of armored and soft scales in Chile, based on 28S and COI barcodes. Two predator species (Rhyzobius lophantae and Coccidophilus transandinus) were identified morphologically, and two parasitoid species, Chartocerus niger and Signiphora bifasciata, were recorded for the first time in Chile.

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