Seasonal And Relative Abundance Of Hymenopterous Parasitoids Attacking Housefly Pupae At Dairy Farms In Chidambaram Town, Tamil Nadu

A survey was conducted in five selected dairy farms in and around Chidambaram town between April 2004 to March 2005. The aim was to describe the seasonal and relative abundance of Hymenopterous parasitoids that attack puparia of Musca domestica Linnaeus. Two species of parasitoids Spalangia cameroni Perkins, Spalangia endius Walker were observed in different dairy farms. When the proportion of parasitoids recorded from pupae was analysed, Spalangia cameroni was recorded as the most prevalent species when compared to Spalangia endius. The climatological factors viz., temperature, rainfall and relative humidity had a significant correlation with both Spalangia cameroni and Spalangia endius.