Bhattacharya, A., Mishra, Y.D., Sushil, S.N., Jaiswal, A.K., & Kumar, K.K. 2003 Relative efficacy of some Trichogramma spp. for management of lepidopteran predators of lac insect, Kerria lacca (Kerr) under field conditions.. Biological Control of Lepidopteran Pests. Proceedings of the Symposium of Biological Control of Lepidopteran Pests, July 17-18, 2002, Bangalore, India Society for Biocontrol Advancement Bangalore, India iii + 354 pp.

Notes: A study was undertaken in Bihar, India, to evaluate the performance of three egg parasitoids, Trichogramma brasiliense, T. chilonis and T. pretiosum (at 100000, 150000 and 200000 per ha), against two lepidopteran predators (Eublemma amabilis and Pseudohypatopa pulverea) of K. lacca raised on the bushy lac host plant bhalia (Flemingia macrophylla). The results not only indicate significant suppression in predator population under various treatments over the control, but also showed the dose-dependent effect of parasitoid release. The highest suppression was recorded in T. brasiliense at 150000 and 200000 per ha (69.90 and 69.81%, respectively), which was significantly higher than the 100000 per ha rate of T. brasiliense release (47.17%). Suppression was 39.62% in T. pretiosum at 100000 per ha. This reduction in predator population positively affected the yield of lac sticks, which was accordingly reflected in the significant increase of yield ratio.