Screening of North American species of Trichogramma Westwood (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) for control of the Indian meal moth, Plodia interpunctella (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) 1 .

Information on Nearctic Trichogramma species was compiled in order to find candidates for the biological control of stored-product moths, especially the Indian meal moth Plodia interpunctella. We evaluated experimentally four species of Trichogramma native to North America: T. deion, T. minutum (2 strains), T. pretiosum (2 strains), T. sibericum, and the palaearctic introduction T. brassicae as candidates. Previous studies indicated that the Indian meal moth P. interpunctella is least preferred among the stored-product moths, so we used this species as target host. We performed the indirect Hassan-test for host preference between the mass-rearing host E. kuehniella and the target host P. interpunctella, and the performance at 15°C. The preparation of Trichogramma spp. in Canada balsam is described.