OCCURRENCE OF THE SCALE ASPIDIOTUS SP. (HOMOPTERA-DIASPIDIDAE) AND ITS PARASITOIDS IN CLONES OF RUBBER PLANT HEVE4 BRASILIENSIS IN sÄo PAULO STATE, BRAZILThe presence of scale Aspidiotus sp. infesting several clones of rubber plants and sprouts of rootstock, was reported in orchards of the Instituto Biológico, Säo Paulo-SP. The incidence ranged from 0 to 100% of the plants green area; heavely infested plants were observed aside to healthy ones suggesting the different clones have a variable susceptibility. It was observed that almost all the scales were parasitized by hymenopters of the super-family Chalcidoidea belonging to the families Encyrtidae, Signiphoridae and Aphelinidae. The species found were Plagiomerus cyanea (Ashmead, 1888), Metaphycus sp., Signiphora far (Girault, 1913), Encarsia citrina (Craw, 1891), Aphytis sp. e Signiphora sp., this latter one being the most frequent.
KEY WORDS:
Aspidiotus sp.; parasitoids; Chalcidoidea; rubber plant.