Le Rü, B.P., & Mitsipa, A. 2000 Influence of the host plant of the cassava mealybug Phenacoccus manihoti on life-history parameters of the predator Exochomus flaviventris.. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 95(2): 209-212.

Notes: Most life history parameters of this generalist predator E. flaviventris were greatly affected by the host plant of the cassava mealybug. When foraging for prey, predators prefer those that maximise larval development and reproduction. Our results suggest that cassava mealybugs fed on Faux-Caoutchouc and Incoza were less suitable prey for E. flaviventris than those that fed on Talinum and Zanaga. Whether or not low quality food of mealybugs reared on Incoza or Faux-Caoutchouc is a consequence of chemical (flavonoid compounds) and/or morphological (waxy leaf surface, leaf toughnesss) plant attributes has to be clarified. however, among cassava varieties ladybird voracity was two times greater on the most antibiotic cassava variety Incoza than on the less antibiotic Zanaga, showing that the use of cassava varieties such as Incoza might synergistically interact with E. flaviventris to provide a significant cassava mealybug control.