Diversity and Abundance of Hymenopterous Parasitoids Associated with Anastrepha fraterculus (Diptera: Tephritidae) in Native and Exotic Host Plants in Misiones, Northeastern Argentina

Some Major host species used by the tephritid fruit flies Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiede-mann) and Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), including Acca sellowiana (O. Berg) Burret, Campomanesia xanthocarpa O. Berg, Psidium guajava L., Prunus persica (L.) Batsch, Eriobotrya japonica (Thunb.) Lindl., Citrus reticulata Blanco var. Murcott, C. aurantium L., C. paradisi Macfadyen var. Dalan Dan, and C. paradisi var. Sudashi, were sampled for fruit fly larvae between Feb and Dec 2000 in the northernmost section of the Paranaense forest, in the Province of Misiones, NE Argentina. Both A. fraterculus and C. capitata were obtained from these host plant species, with A. fraterculus accounting for 93% of all tephritid puparia identified. Ten species of larval-pupal parasitoids were recovered from A. fraterculus; Doryctobracon areolatus (Szépligeti), D. brasiliensis (Szépligeti), Utetes anastrephae (Viereck), Opius bellus (Gahan), Diachasmimorpha longicaudata (Ashmead) (Opiinae, raconidae), Odontosema anastrephae Borgmeier, Lopheucoila anastrephae (Rohwer), Aganaspis pelleranoi (Brèthes) (Eucoilinae, Figitidae), Asobara anastrephae (Muessebeck) (Alyssinae, Braconidae), and Aceratoneuromyia indica (Silvestri) (Tetrastichinae, Eulophidae). All these parasitoids, with the exception of D. longicaudata and A. indica, are native to the Neotropical region. No parasitoids were recovered from C. capitata puparia. Asobara anastrephae and O. anastrephae are newly recorded in Argentina, whereas D. brasiliensis, U. anastrephae, and L. anastrephae are newly reported in Misiones. The eucoiline A. pelleranoi wasthe most abundant parasitoid species. Acca sellowiana and P. guajava harbored the highest parasitoid abundance and diversity.Fil: Schliserman, Pablo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia de Catamarca. Universidad Nacional de Catamarca. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia de Catamarca; ArgentinaFil: Ovruski Alderete, Sergio Marcelo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Planta Piloto de Procesos Industriales Microbiológicos; ArgentinaFil: Decoll, Olga. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Misiones; ArgentinaFil: Wharton, Robert. Texas A&M University; Estados Unido

Natural Distribution of Parasitoids of Larvae of the Fall Armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, in Argentina

To develop a better understanding of the natural distribution of the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), and to update the knowledge of the incidence of its complex of parasitoids. S. frugiperda, samplings in whorl-stage corn were carried out in provinces of Argentina from 1999 to 2003. S. frugiperda larvae were collected from corn in localities of the provinces of Tucumán, Salta, Jujuy, Santiago del Estero, La Rioja, Córdoba, San Luis, Chaco and Misiones. In each locality 30 corn plants were sampled and only larvae located in those plants were collected. The parasitoids that emerged from S. frugiperda larvae were identified and counted. The abundance of the parasitoids and the parasitism rate were estimated. The S. frugiperda parasitoids collected were Campoletis grioti (Blanchard) (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae), Chelonus insularis (Cresson) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), Archytas marmoratus (Townsend) (Diptera Tachinidae) and/or A. incertus (Macquart), Ophion sp. (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae), Euplectrus platyhypenae Howard (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), and Incamyia chilensis (Aldrich) (Diptera Tachinidae). C. grioti was the most abundant and frequent during the five-year survey. Similar diversity of parasitoids was obtained in all the provinces, with the exception of I. chilensis and E. platyhypenae that were recovered only in the province of Salta. In the Northwestern region, in Tucumán, C. grioti and species of Archytas were the most abundant and frequent parasitoids. On the contrary, in Salta and Jujuy Ch. insularis was the parasitoid most abundant and frequently recovered. The parasitism rate obtained in Tucumán, Salta and Jujuy provinces were 21.96%, 17.87% and 6.63% respectively with an average of 18.93%. These results demonstrate that hymenopteran and dipteran parasitoids of S. frugiperda occurred differentially throughout the Argentinian provinces and played an important role on the natural control of the S. frugiperda larval population

Incidencia de moscas de la fruta de importancia econ?mica sobre Citrus aurantium (Rutaceae) en Tucum?n, Argentina

3 ilus. 1 tab. Bib: p. 52-53Se analiz? la relaci?n entre Ceratitis capitata, Anastrepha fraterculus y su planta hospedante, Citrus aurantium (naranjo agrio), mediante la recolecci?n durante un a?o de frutos silvestres en un bosque secundario de la provincia de Tucum?n, Argentina. Adem?s, se registr? el parasitismo natural. Se recolectaron 2820 frutos silvestres de naranja agria (322 kg), de los cuales el 34 por ciento estuvo infestado. De estos frutos se obtuvieron 3216 puparios (3150 de C. capitata y 66 de A. fraterculus), de los cuales emergieron 2039 adultos. C. capitata en C. aurantium variaron entre 0.8 y 83.6 pupas/kg, mientras que los niveles de infestaci?n de A. fraterculus variaron de 0.1 a 7.3 pupas/kg. En las pupas de C. capitata se observ? solamente una especie de parasitoide, Aganaspis pelleranoi, y ninguna de las A. fraterculus. Los porcentajes de parasitismo fueron bajos, variando entre 1 y 6 por ciento A. pelleranoi podr?a ser un agente eficaz de biocontrol de moscas de la fruta en cultivos c?tricos, debido principalmente a su comportamiento de forrajeo y su ?mbito de hospedantes. This paper analyzes the relationship between Ceratitis capitata and Anastrepha fraterculus and the host plant Citrus aurantium. A survey of infested fruits was carried out in a secondary forest in the province of Tucum?n, Argentina, during one year. The degree of fruit fly larvae parasitism is also recorded. A total of 2820 wild fruits (322 Kg) of C. aurantium were sampled, of which 34 per cent were infested. Of these fruits, 3216 pupae were obtained (3150 pupae of C. capitata and 66 of A. fraterculus), of which 2.039 fruit fly adults emerged. C. capitata was the predominant fruit fly species, representing 99 (2.015 adults) of all the fruit fly adults obtained in the laboratory. Although only 24 A. fraterculus adults were found, we provide the first documented natural infestation data for C. aurantium, which has been recognized as a potential host of this fruit fly in Tucum?n. C. capitata infestation rates in C. aurantium were highly variable throughout the year, ranging from 0.1 to 7.3 pupae/Kg. Only Aganaspis pelleranoi, a larval-pupal parasitoid, was obtained from C. capitata pupae, while from A. fraterculus pupae no parasitoids were obtained. Parasitism levels were low, ranging from to 1 to 6 per cent. However, this parasitoids species could be an effective fruit fly biocontrol agent in Citrus orchards due to its foraging behavior and host range