An Updated Checklist of Predators and Parasitoids of Aphids (Homoptera: Aphididae) Infesting Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) Across India

Abstract

A comprehensive checklist of natural enemies associated with aphids infesting safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) was prepared from published records across India. The present study was undertaken to compile and critically evaluate the available records of predators and parasitoids associated with aphids infesting safflower in different states and union territories of India, with emphasis on their taxonomic diversity, aphid associations, and geographical distribution. The compiled data documented 26 predator species belonging to four orders, Araneae, Coleoptera, Diptera and Neuroptera, and four parasitoid species belonging to Diptera and Hymenoptera, distributed across 12 states and union territories. Coccinellidae was the most diverse predator group, with 14 species, followed by Neuroptera (7), Syrphidae (5), and spiders (6). Coccinella septempunctata exhibited the broadest aphid-host range, whereas most other predators were associated with a single aphid species. Among parasitoids, Endaphis aphidimyza had the widest host range. Uroleucon compositae supported the richest natural-enemy assemblage, with 29 predator and four parasitoid species across nine states/union territories, followed by Uroleucon carthami and Aphis gossypii. Karnataka and Maharashtra were the principal centres of documented natural enemy diversity, followed by Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, whereas fewer associations were recorded from several other states and union territories. Predator-mediated interactions were substantially more numerous than parasitoid associations in the available literature. Overall, the compiled records reveal a diverse but geographically uneven natural enemy complex associated with safflower aphids, reflecting both the distribution of documented associations and likely differences in sampling and reporting effort. These findings provide a useful baseline for further faunistic surveys, conservation biological control, and integrated management of safflower aphids in India.