Indian Journal of Ecology

Surveys were conducted in various districts of Punjab, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh to record the diversity of natural enemies (predators and parasitoids) associated with lac insect (Kerria lacca) during 2019 to 2023. Atotal of 8 natural enemies including four predators, Eublemma amabilis Moore, Pseudohypatopa pulverea (Mayrick), Chrysoperla zastrowi sillemi (Esben-Peterson), Tribolium sp., and four parasitoids, Aprostocteus purpureus (Cameron), Tachardiaephagus tachardiae (Howard), Tyndarichus clavicornis (Cameron), Eupelmus tachardiae (Howard) were associated with lac insect. Besides these, one hyper-parasitoid, Bracon greeni Ashmead was also recorded. Among these, E. amabilis was the predominant species. The study will help in planning effective management practices to tackle these biotic stresses in lac cultivation.