SciELO - Scientific Electronic Library Online

 
vol.13 issue4Effect of the conditioning and ultrasound-microwave sequential technique on the yield, chemical and functional properties of the essential oils and hydrolats extracted from the leaves of Tagetes elliptica SmithAn organic management alternative that improves soil quality in cocoa plantations under agroforestry systems author indexsubject indexarticles search
Home Pagealphabetic serial listing  

Services on Demand

Journal

Article

Indicators

  • Have no cited articlesCited by SciELO

Related links

  • Have no similar articlesSimilars in SciELO

Share


Scientia Agropecuaria

Print version ISSN 2077-9917

Abstract

CENTENO-PARRALES, Jesús A.; CHIRINOS, Dorys T.  and  KONDO, Takumasa. Trophic networks associated with the corn leaf aphid, Rhopalosiphum maidis (Fitch, 1856) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) in a cornfield, Manabí, Ecuador. Scientia Agropecuaria [online]. 2022, vol.13, n.4, pp.327-333.  Epub Nov 29, 2022. ISSN 2077-9917.  http://dx.doi.org/10.17268/sci.agropecu.2022.029.

The corn leaf aphid is considered an important pest associated with maize. This study aimed to discover the trophic associations around Rhopalosiphum maidis in Manabí, Ecuador. Maize leaves were sampled to determine the numbers of parasitized aphids, and the identities of predators and parasitoids. Nine taxa of natural enemies were detected: the primary parasitoid was Lysiphlebus testaceipes Cresson, 1880 (Hymenoptera: Braconidae); the hyperparasitoid Syrphophagus aphidivorus (Mayr, 1876) (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae); the predatory hoverfly Ocyptamus dimidiatus (Fabricius, 1781) (Diptera: Syrphidae), four species of coccinellids, Cheilomenes sexmaculata (Fabricius, 1781), Cycloneda sanguinea (Linnaeus, 1763), Hippodamia convergens Guerin-Meneville, 1842 and Paraneda pallidula guticollis (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) and an assassin bug, Zelus sp. (Hemiptera: Reduviidae). A parasitoid, Pachyneuron formosum Walker, 1833 (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) emerged from hoverfly pupae. This study reports the presence of the parasitoids S. aphidivorus and P. formosum in Ecuador for the first time. These results increase the knowledge of a four-trophic level relationship (host plant - pest - parasitoids, predators - hyperparasitoids) in a maize agroecosystem as a fundamental basis for biological control programs.

Keywords : biological control; predation; hyperparasitism; maize; parasitoids; biocontrol.

        · text in English     · English ( pdf )