Survey and Identification of Some Eulophid Parasitoids (Hymenoptera) of Tomato Leaf Miner (Tuta absoluta) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) Along the Syrian Coast

Abstract

Abo Kaf, N., R. Youssef and R. Aboud. 2022. Survey and Identification of Some Eulophid Parasitoids (Hymenoptera) of Tomato Leaf Miner (Tuta absoluta) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) Along the Syrian Coast. Arab Journal of Plant Protection, 40(2): 127-139. https://doi.org/10.22268/AJPP-40.2.127139 The Eulophid (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) parasitoids of tomato leaf miner (Tuta absoluta) were collected from tomato fields in Latakia and Tartus provinces of Syria during the period 2019-2020. The collected parasitoids were identified to subfamilies, genera and species, and found to belong to three subfamilies: Tetrastichinae, Entedoninae, Eulophinae, and 5 Genera and 14 species: Stenomesius japonicas, 3 species from the genus Stenomesius, Hemiptarsenus unguicellus, Pnigalio agraules, and 6 species from the genus Pnigalio, Neochrysocharis formosa and one species from the genus Elasmus. The species Stenomesius japonicas and three species of genus Stenomesius, Hemiptarsenus unguicellus, Pnigalio agraules and Neochrysocharis formosa were recorded for the first time in Syria on tomato leaf miner (Tuta absoluta) on tomato plants. The most widely spread of these species was N. formosa (46.9%) and S. japonicus and 3 species from genus Stenomesius (45.7%), followed by 6 species from genus Pnigalio (4.35%), Elasmus sp. (1.37%), P. agraules (0.69%), and H. unguicellus (0.46%). Keywords: Tuta absoluta, Parasitoids, Eulophidae, Syria.