Preliminary study on natural enemies of Hishimonus phycitis, the vector of lime witches' broom phytoplasma in Hormozgan province

عنوان دوره: دومین کنگره بین المللی حشره شناسی ایران

The Mexican lime, Citrus aurantifolia, is an economically important horticultural crop in southern region of Iran threatened by several destructive pest and diseases. Witches' broom disease of lime (WBDL), caused by ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma aurantifolia’, is a lethal disease to Mexican lime. The disease is transmitted by leafhopper Hishimonus phycitis (Distant) (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), which can play a key role in wide distribution of the disease in citrus orchards. The main approach for the control of vector-borne diseases relies on management of the vectors. Biological control of the vector was omitted due to lack of sufficient information on its natural enemies. The current study was carried out to determine natural enemies on various stages of H. phycitis. The eggs deposited on the infested leaves of the host trees were collected (from Roudan, Hormozgan province) and maintained inside a petri dish till parasitoid adult emergence. The adult parasitoids were subsequently preserved in 80% ethanol. In addition, all arthropods living on lime trees were collected by D-vac aspirator and preserved in 80% ethanol till identification. The egg parasitoid was identified as Polynema sp. (Mymaridae). Two species of predatory spiders, voraciously feeding H. phycitis, belonging to Salticidae were identified as Plexippus iranus Logunov, 2009 and Thyene imperialis (Rossi, 1846). This is the first report of natural enemies for H. phycitis in Iran, and most probably in the world. Further studies need to be done in order to identify the parasitoid at species level and determine its efficiency, seasonal abundance, and possible occurrence of other species affecting population of H. phycitis in its distributed area.

biological control؛ egg parasitoid؛ predator spiders؛ WBDL