The diversity of aphid parasitoids in East Africa and implications for biological control.
Victoria C WoolleyYolice Lb TemboBaltazar J NdakidemiJanet N ObanyiSarah E J ArnoldSteven R BelmainPatrick A NdakidemiJoshua O OgendoPhilip C StevensonPublished in: Pest management science (2021)
Aphidius colemani and Lysiphlebus testaceipes are potential targets for conservation biological control in tropical smallholder agro-ecosystems. We hypothesize that high genetic diversity in East African populations of Aphidius colemani suggests that this species originated in East Africa and has spread globally due to its use as a biological control agent. These East African populations could have potential for use as strains in commercial biological control or to improve existing Aphidius colemani strains by selective breeding.