DEVELOPING METHODS FOR TESTING HOST-SPECIFICITY OF PHYMASTICHUS-COFFEA LASALLE (HYM., TETRASTICHINAE), A POTENTIAL BIOLOGICAL-CONTROL AGENTOF HYPOTHENEMUS-HAMPEI (FERRARI) (COL., SCOLYTIDAE) IN COLOMBIA

In line with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization Code of Conduct for the import and release of biological control agents, a nd taking into consideration the recommendations in the draft IUCN (In ternational Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) Gu idelines for the Prevention of Biodiversity Loss Due to Biological Inv asion, a procedure was developed to assess the host range of Phymastic hus coffea, an endoparasitoid of coffee berry borer; Hypothenemus hamp ei. Host specificity was tested by exposing a Kenyan biotype of P. cof fea to a selection of Scolytidae under quarantine conditions. The resu lts demonstrated that P. coffea can be considered as oligophagous, att acking and developing on other species of the genus of the target bore r. In no-choice tests, three species, H. obscurus, H. seriatus and Ara ptus sp. yielded parasitism. The risk of attack to potential alternati ve hosts if P. coffea were to be released as a potential biological co ntrol agent of coffee berry borer in Colombia is discussed. A quaranti ne procedure was developed for the importation of P. coffea to Colombi a to deal with specific problems of hyperparasitoids and fungal contam ination.