DOI: 10.36347/sajb.2016.v04i03.016

Pages: 253-257

Bambara groundnut [Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc (Fabaceae)] is an important source of protein for rural populations in sub-Saharan Africa. During storage, this commodity is destroyed by Callosobruchus maculatus (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) which have Anisopteromalus calandrae (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) as parasitoid of its larval stages. Analysis of the numerical response among seeds, bruchids and its parasitoids demonstrated that oviposition of C. maculatus is great on low mass of seeds. The parasitoid that prefers the fourth larva stage of C. maculatus is abundant at the lowest densities of the host. A. calandrae could therefore control bruchids on Bambara groundnuts at very low densities, as from their infestation.