ABSTRACT
Tamarixia radiata (Waterston) and Cheilomenes sexmaculata (Fabricius) as biological control agents of Diaphorina citri Kuwayama in Ecuador

Yilda Chavez1, Dorys T. Chirinos1, 2*, Guillermo González3, Nestor Lemos1, Adrian Fuentes1, Rossana Castro1, and Takumasa Kondo4
 
Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Liviidae) is the main vector of the bacteria that causes Huanglongbing (HLB), the most destructive disease of Citrus. The presence of D. citri was reported in Ecuador in 2013 on branches of citrus, Citrus spp., and orange jessamine, Murraya paniculata (L.) Jack (Rutaceae), but HLB has not been detected so far in this country. This paper reports for the first time the presence of two important natural enemies of D. citri in Ecuador, i.e., its main parasitoid Tamarixia radiata (Waterston, 1922) (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) and the adventitious ladybird beetle Cheilomenes sexmaculata (Fabricius, 1781) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) attacking psyllid nymphs on M. paniculata, in Guayaquil, Guayas province, Ecuador. A short diagnosis of the two natural enemies and their distribution in the New World is presented based on published literature.
Keywords: Asian citrus psyllid, biological control, Diaphorina citri, Ecuador, parasitoid, predator.
1Universidad Agraria del Ecuador, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, P.O. box 09-04-100, Guayaquil, Ecuador.
2Universidad del Zulia, Facultad de Agronomía, Apartado Postal 15205, Maracaibo, 4005, Zulia, Venezuela.
*Corresponding author (dtchirinos@gmail.com).
3Independent Researcher, Nocedal 6455 La Reina, Santiago, Chile.
4Corporación Colombiana de Investigación Agropecuaria (CORPOICA), Calle 23, Carrera 3, Continuo al Penal, Palmira, Valle, Palmira, Colombia.