Trichogramma: A promising biocontrol agent

Parasitoids that are able to remove the herbivore from the agroecosystem before larval eclosion are known as egg parasitoids. Mostly they belong to the Hymenopteran order which includes 15 families. Adult of Trichogramma spp. is 0.2-1.00 mm in size with body color pale yellow to brown color. Most of Trichogramma spp. finds their host through the direct host related cues and indirect host related cues. In general, eggs of all lepidopteran pests are parasitized by Trichogramma spp. The black layer inside the chorion of host egg and the exit hole are evidences of parasitism by Trichogramma. There are two ways to release Trichogramma in the field. One is Trichocard and another one is release as adults. Trichogramma species are the most widely exploited and used for pest management across the world among all the egg parasitoids. T. chilonis, T. japonicum, T. pretiosum and T. achaeae are the major species of the genus Trichogramma and are effective against different pests.