Cotesia kazak Telenga

Cotesia kazak was imported from southern Europe for the suppression of Helicoverpa armigera. It is a key parasitoid of H. armigera on chickpea, cotton, tomato, tobacco and other crops in Southern Europe (including Russia), Kazakhistan, Central Asia, Azherbaijan and Armenia. The parasitoid could parasitise H. armigera, H. peltigera Denis & Shiffermuller and Agrotis segetum Denis and Shiffermuller.

In India, it is being multiplied only on Helicoverpa armigera.

The parasitoid adults, after emergence from the cocoons are kept in 30 x 30 x 30 cms wooden cage with top and bottom provided with water soaked sponge. Three sides of the cage are covered by white cloth and the fourth one with a glass pane door. Parasitoids are fed 10 per cent honey solution and are kept for two days during which they feed and mate. After two days 5 pairs are taken in one litre ventilated plastic jar containing 100 three to five days old Helicooerpa larvae which are introduced with the help of camel hair brush. In this plastic jar, semi-synthetic diet is kept for larval feed and laminated paper strips for larval movement. All the females are used for parasitisation in this way and are returned after 24 hours to a similar assembly. Each female could parasitise 20 host larvae each day and a total of 63 till it survives. The male and female adults live for 5.9 and 10.2 days. The unparasitised larvae are removed from the jar regularly. Parasitized larvae are either transferred to 10 x 2.5 cm glass vials or multi cell trays containing artificial diet for Helicoverpa. The parasitized larvae feed on the diet and the parasitoid larvae emerge after 9-13 days. The parasitoid larvae spin cocoon immediately after the emergence from the host body. In case the parasitized larvae are transferred to diet in vials or trays, care should be taken to remove the left over host diet after the parasitoid larva emerges out. This is to avoid the sticking of parasitoid larva to the diet which would lead to its mortality. Host larvae remain alive for 1-3 days after the parasitoid larva comes out of it. After 5 days of cocoon formation, the parasitoid adult emerges out from the cocoon.

Cotesia kazak prefer to parasitise host larvae on cotton, tomato and okra. At 5°C, both cocoons and adults could be stored for 20 days.