HYMENOPTERA ATTRIBUTES ON MORPHOMETRIC AND PARASITISM AS NATURAL ENEMIES OF PIERIS BRASSICAE IN KUMAUN DIVISION, UTTARAKHAND, INDIA

Around the world, Pieris brassicae (Linnaeus) is a proactive cruciferous agricultural pest. An unpredictable pool of parasitoids, primarily belonging to the order Hymenoptera, routinely transmit natural control. The spectrum of species and central physical traits of the hymenopteran parasitoid complex affiliated with P. brassicae are covered in this paper. Meanwhile, it examines the pattern of parasitism frequencies over time for five Hymenoptera species, viz. Brachymeria lasus (Walker), Cotesia glomerate (Linnaeus), Pteromalus puparum (Linnaeus), Oomyzus sokolowskii (Kurdjumov), and Vespa orientalis Linnaeus in the Kumaun division over two years in a row (2022 and 2023). Between these two years, all species saw higher parasitism rates, according to a statistical comparison, with O. sokolowskii showing the most dramatic increase in proportion. With the mean rate accelerating from 6.96% in 2022 to 8.46% in 2023, statistical testing verified that the overall increase in parasitism rates was significant. Our primary findings disclose that O. sokolowskii is the smallest and V. orientalis is the largest. In addition to having the greatest parasitism rates, C. glomerata is special for its phenomenal morphological kind. Interestingly, no relationship involving parasitism susceptibility and body size was detected. As a result, there are apparent shifts each year, and fluctuating factors may have a ripple effect on parasitism.