Parasitoids of the invasive cotton mealybug, Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley (Hemiptera, Pseudococcidae), in Iraq

Abstract

Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley (Hemiptera, Pseudococcidae) is an invasive mealybug globally, having originated in North America. During routine rearing of this pest in a plant nursery in Karbala, Iraq in June 2023, three species of parasitoid wasps (Hymenoptera, Chalcicoidea) emerged from the mealybug colonies, or were extracted as pupae from parasitised mealybugs. They were identified using both morphology and DNA sequencing as Aenasius arizonensis (Girault), Cheiloneurus nankingensis Li and Zu (Encyrtidae), and Marietta pictus (André) (Aphelinidae). The latter two species represent new country records for Iraq. All three species are diagnosed and illustrated below, with summaries of their distributions and biology. The importance of having databases available of barcodes and other diagnostic sequence data is emphasised in the context of biological control programmes.

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