Augmentation of Mirax insularis Muesebeck. Alternative for population control of the coffee leaf miner, Leucoptera coffeella Guérin- Ménéville, in Puerto Rico.

A biological control program for the suppression of the coffee leaf miner Leucoptera coffeella Guerin-Meneville, populations in Puerto Rico is promising. Such a project is favored because of stable habitat, host specificity of the pest, indirect pest and salubrious environment. Because of the negative ecological impact of chemical applications for controlling CLM populations, it is important to select an alternative to supress this pest in the shortest time possible. Classical biological control, new associations and other techniques such as augmentation are feasible approaches. Augmentation seems the most appropriate because it requires no time-consuming foreign exploration and quarantine procedures. Mirax insularis Muesebeck can be augmented in the field just before CLM population peaks by mass liberations of parasitoids reared in greenhouses. This approach is possible because the braconid is well adapted to Puerto Rican coffee plantations and the biology and phenology of the host is well known. To properly evaluate the impact of a biological control program, it is necessary to establish an economic threshold of the CLM damage.