EVIDENCE OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF COTESIA FLAVIPES (HYMENOPTERA, BRACONIDAE) IN CONTINENTAL AFRICA

Cotesia flavipes Cameron has been released several times in Africa for biological control of gramineous stem borers. Establishment has been reported on the Indian Ocean islands of Mauritius, Reunion and Madagas car, however, several attempts to introduce C. flavipes into continent al Africa are reported to have failed. Recently, several cocoon masses of C. flavipes were recovered from south-western Kenya where the para sitoid was never released. Identifications of the parasitoids from sou th-western Kenya were based on morphological characters, allozyme freq uencies, and mating experiments with laboratory populations of C. flav ipes. It is hypothesized that C. flavipes became established from indi viduals escaping from a laboratory colony maintained in south-western Kenya in 1991.