Life table studies of paracoccus marginatus effect of endosymbionts elimination on life table parameters of papaya mealybug paracoccus marginatus (hemiptera: pseudococcidae) on different host plants

The mealybugs were reported to rely on endosymbionts for the essential amino acids which were found to be deficit in the sap of its host plants. Life table describes the mortality and survival patterns of a population is described by life table that provides information on parameters such as the number of survivors, the number of deaths and the life expectancy. The present study analyzes the effect of endosymbiont elimination on the life table parameters of P. marginatus on four different host plants viz. papaya (Carica papaya L.), eggplant (Solanum melongena L.), tapioca (Manihot esculenta Crantz) and mulberry (Morus alba). Results revealed that net reproductive rate of PMB on all four host plants was significantly reduced by the antibiotic treatment. Irrespective of the host plants, cumulative fecundity of PMB population was high in endosymbiotic population than in aposymbionts; especially it was much reduced on mealybugs of brinjal and tapioca host plants. And also in all the host plants the age of first and 50 per cent oviposition of aposymbiotic population has been postponed and also in papaya and mulberry host plants the total oviposition was prolonged in aposymbiotic population. In aposymbiotic population of PMB on all four host plants, the mean generation time has been prolonged. The outcomes displayed right now give a premise to the advancement of new conventions for tentatively controlling the endosymbiotic microbiota of PMB.