Megaselia Scalaris (Loew) (Diptera: Phoridae) - A New Pupal Parasitoid Of The Invasive Banana skipper Erionota Torus Evans From India Confirmed By COI Gene Barcoding.

Since its invasion of Kerala in 2014, the banana skipper Erionota torus Evans (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) has become a severe threat to banana farming. The present study reports phorid fly Megaselia scalaris (Loew), a prominent detritivorous insect, as a parasitoid attacking the pupa of Banana leaf roller E. torus Evans. This parasitoid was reported for the first time in the field population of banana leaf roller pupa collected from Pariyaram located at 12.0753N, 75.3049E, Kannur district of Kerala, India, during August, 2019. By using both classical and molecular methods, we were able to confirm the species. The current research suggests that M. scalaris might be included to the list of parasitoid species that are known to exist for E. torus pupa. More research is needed to determine whether or not this phorid fly can be used as an efficient biocontrol agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]