The Asiatic corn borer, Ostrinia furnacalis Guenee
(Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) is the most destructive insect of
corn in Malaysia (Hussein & Ibrahim, 1992). Although
there are many methods that can be employed in managing
the corn borer, spraying with insecticides is the most
commonly practiced in the country. In order to minimize the
use of insecticides, both for ecological and commercial
reasons, there is a need to develop an alternative approach
such as using biological control agents. Among biological
control agents found attacking the corn borer, a native egg
parasitoid identified as Trichogramma papilionis Nagarkatti
(Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) is believed to play an
important role in reducing damage in Selangor, Malaysia
(Hussein et al., 1996). However, there is a tendency of less
performance of T. papilionis in some fields, especially in
those with intensive weed control practiced (Sulaiman et al.,
2003a).