Biological control of the papaya mealybug, Paracoccus marginatus (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) in Guam.

Summary The papaya mealybug (PM), Paracoc-cus marginatus , a pest in the Central America and the Caribbean was noted to have established on Guam in April 2002 and was causing serious damage to papaya, Plumeria spp., Hibiscus spp. and other plants. The parasitoids Anagyrus loecki , Pseudleptomastix mexicana and Acerophagous papayae totalling 46 200 individuals were introduced from Puerto Rico and fi eld released in Guam from June to October, 2002. A reduction of over 99% of papaya mealybug was ob-served about a year after the introduction of these parasitoids. This has reduced risk of introduction of this mealybug to neighbouring islands in the Pacifi c Region. A biological control system now appears successful and is available for implementation if necessary in other islands in the Pacifi c region.Keywords: Papaya mealybug, Para-coccus marginatus , Hemiptera, Pseudo-coccidae, Anagyrus loecki , Pseudlepto-mastix mexicana , Acerophagous papayae , Hymenoptera, Encyrtidae, biological control, Guam.