The cassava mealybug had invaded Thailand in 2008 and quickly spread into southeast Asia. The encyrtid parasitoid Anagyrus lopezi was introduced into southeast Asia to control this pest, and damage of cassava caused by this pest has currently been limited. Since follow-up asssessment of this biological control has not been done, it remains unknown how A. lopezi has control cassava mealybug populations in this region. The hyperparasitoid Prochiloneurus pulchellus predominantly parasitizes A. lopezi pupae in mummified cassava mealybug in Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia. Although the hyperparasitism may reduce effectiveness of A. lopezi as a biological control agent of the cassava mealybug, the impact of the hyperasitism on efficiency of biological control by A. lopezi has not been evaluated. We determined host acceptance and suitability of different developmental stages of A.lopezi for parasitism by P. pulchellus. Prochiloneurus pulchellus attacked mealybugs parasitized 6 d to 18 d after parasitism by A. lopezi including mealybug nymphs containing A. lopezi larvae and mealybug mummies containing A. lopezi pupae or adults. When A. lopezi larvae in mealybug nymphs were parasitized by P. pulchellus, the parasitized A. lopezi larvae continued to feed on mealybug contents and developed to pupae within mealybug. The hyperparasitoid successfully parasitized A. lopezi pupae and adults in mealybug mummies. These results suggest that P. pulchellus is a koinobiont species which attack both primary parasitoid larvae in live mealybugs and parasitoid pupae or adults in mealybug mummies.
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