Trichogramma embryophagum Hartig

The eggs of Corcyra cephalonica, treated with UV rays for 45 minutes to prevent hatching are glued to 'Tricho"cards of 15 cm x 10.cm. The cards are prepunched to obtain 8 pieces of 4 cm x 38 cm leaving uncovered space' at one end to facilitate stapling. The eggs' are exposed to adult female Trichogramma in the ratio of 8:1 for 24 hours. In case cards are exposed in polythene bags the egg to female ratio should be 30:1 but in this method the females are allowed to parasitise till they die. After parasitisation, 6 day old parasitized egg cards are prepared for shipment/field release. A pair of cards is stapled in such a way so that the eggs do not touch each other. Twenty 'Tricho' cards are packed in each polythene bag. In polythene bags a strip of wood wool coated with concentrated and dried honey is placed inside before closing to facilitate feeding by adult parasitoids which might emerge in transit. 2, 4 and 6 day old parasitized Corcyra eggs (50,000/ha for sugarcane and most other crops, could be packed in perforated capsules. The perforations permit the Trichogramma to emerge but prevent predator attack. Ordinary corks are bored with cork borer to make a cavity for placing eggs. The cavity is glued with a small piece of mesh to ensure emergence of adult Trichogramma but not the entry of predators. Such corks containing eggs are dispersed in the field randomly as are the capsules mentioned above.