Overview

The field level of parasitism of Leucinodes orbonalis by the ichneumonid parasitoid, Trathala flavoorbitalis was monitored to gain insights into the parasitoid’s performance in the farmer’s field. Based on the two farmers’ fields grown to eggplant from October to May every year, its highest level of occurrence is experienced throughout March. At most, the parasitoid is present in the field as early as mid-January up to the first week of April.

In farmers’ fields, the degree of parasitism by T. flavoorbitalis varied widely from none to as high as 70%. Overall, however, parasitism averaged about 20-25% in most fields. Parasitoids were recovered from all treated plots, including insecticide-treated plots. With the planned mass-rearing of L. orbonalis in artificial diet, T. flavoorbitalis may yet be successfully mass-reared and strategically mass-released in farmers’ fields.