New record of parasitoids of fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in rice-based farming systems in the Philippines.

Background: The fall armyworm (FAW) was first reported infesting corn in the Philippines on June 2019 and rice on May 2021. With the use of commercially-available insecticides as the primary, if not sole management strategy, future problems on insecticide resistance of FAW and the hazards that these chemicals may pose to non-target organisms and environment may likely to occur. With this, a need to scout for naturally-occurring biological control agents of FAW in the infested areas is necessary to identify possible indigenous natural enemies. Collection of parasitoids: Field samplings and monitoring of FAW and its natural enemies were conducted in selected municipalities of Central and Northern Luzon, and Cagayan Valley regions of the Philippines. The collected FAW larvae in the field that were suspected to be parasitized were reared in the laboratory until parasitoid emergence. The parasitoids were then sent to Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International United Kingdom (CABI UK) Diagnostic and Advisory Service for identification. Conclusion: Two parasitoids, Brachymeria lasus and Copidosoma floridanum were identified from the samples that emerged from the reared FAW larvae. These two parasitoids are new records on FAW in the Philippines and elsewhere.