Release and Establishment of Encarsia diaspidicola (Hymenoptera: Aphelididae) Against White Peach Scale (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) in Papaya

White peach scale, Pseudaulacaspis pentagona (Targioni-Tozetti) (He- miptera: Diaspididae) is a serious economic and quarantine pest of papaya, Carica papaya L. The parasitic wasp Encarsia diaspidicola (Silvestri) (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) was brought from Western Samoa into a quarantine containment facility in Hawaii for evaluation and potential release against white peach scale. E. diaspidicola was considered an ideal biological control candidate for release in Hawaii because it is reportedly highly host specific. Host range testing in quarantine with several exotic diaspidids and related taxa, including a native palm scale, indicated that E. dispidicola is unlikely to attack non-target species or cause harm to the environment if released for control of white peach scale in Hawaii. The Hawaii Department of Agriculture and USDA APHIS issued permits for its release. Releases of E. diaspidicola were made beginning in February 2013 in a papaya field in Kapoho on the Big Island. Yellow sticky trap monitoring suggests that the wasp has established in the area of release. Infested papaya logs are being used to spread the wasp to new areas