Strepsipteran parasitism of white leafhoppers, Cofana spp. (Hemiptera : Cicadellidae) in lowland rice in Cote d'Ivoire

Three tests were conducted over a 2-year period in lowland irrigated rice f ields on the WARDA Research Station at Bouake, Cote d'Ivoire, to obtain inf ormation on the strepsipteran parasitism of white leafhoppers, Cofana spect ra and C, unimaculata. Rice cultivars were sampled with a sweep net to coll ect leaf hoppers for determination of the relative abundance of the two lea f hopper species and the effect of rice cultivar and rice crop age on the l eaf hopper populations and percent strepsipteran parasitism. Dissections of the leafhoppers were made to determine the relative number of the various parasitic stages in the leafhoppers. Cofana unimaculata populations were hi gher than those of C. spectra while C. spectra parasitism by Halictophagus australensis Perkins (Strepsiptera: Halictophagidae) was higher than that o f C. unimaculata. In two tests, there was a relationship between length of rice cultivar duration and C. unimaculata populations with populations bein g highest on the short duration cultivars. On most cultivars there was no c orrelation between Cofana populations and percentage parasitism, nor was th ere a relationship between cultivar growth duration and percent parasitism. The number of the various stages of the parasite was similar in both Cofan a species with the male pupal parasitic stage being most common.