Molecular Identification and Detection of Lysiphlebus fabarum (Hym.: Braconidae): A Key Parasitoid of Aphids, by Using Polymerase Chain Reaction

All species in the genus lysiphlebus förster (hymenoptera: braconidae, aphidiinae) are solitary endoparasitoids of aphids, which are one of the most difficult and unknown taxonomic groups to identify. a pair of species-specific primers as a molecular marker was designed to identify the most abundant and important aphid parasitoid wasp, l. fabarum marshall, collected from guilan province (iran). this primer pair, which produces a 148 bp fragment length, was developed for l. fabarum by using the atpase 6 gene region of mitochondrial dna. the lower detection limit to amplify dna of l. fabarum in a singleplex pcr was determined to be 72 pg of parasitoid dna/μl pcr which was enough to detect this parasitoid in early life stages within its host. the l. fabarum eggs cannot be detected within aphis fabae scopoli (hemiptera: aphididae) earlier than 12 hours after oviposition. a pair of species specific primers designed for l. fabarum can be used to monitor the wasp populations under field conditions.