Occurrence of Lysiphlebus testaceipes (Cresson, 1880) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Aphidiinae) parasitizing Aphis forbesi Weed, 1889 (Hemiptera: Aphididae) in the strawberries crop in the metropolitan Region of Curitiba, Parana, Brazil

NOTES AND COMMENTS

Occurrence of Lysiphlebus testaceipes (Cresson, 1880) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Aphidiinae) parasitizing Aphis forbesi Weed, 1889 (Hemiptera: Aphididae) in the strawberries crop in the metropolitan Region of Curitiba, Parana, Brazil

Araujo, ES.^I,*; Zawadneak, MAC.^II;Tavares, MT.^III; Benatto, A.^II; Mógor ÁF.^IV

^IPrograma de Pós-graduação em Agronomia - Produção vegetal, Departamento de Fitotecnia e Fitosanitarismo, Universidade Federal do Paraná – UFPR, Rua dos funcionários, 1540, CEP 80035-050, Curitiba, PR, Brazil

^IIDepartamento de Patologia Básica, Universidade Federal do Paraná – UFPR, Jardim das Américas, CEP 81531990, Curitiba, PR, Brazil

^IIIDepartamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo – UFES, Av. Marechal Campos, 1468, CEP 29.043-900, Vítória, ES, Brazil

^IVDepartamento de Fitotecnia e Fitossanitarismo, Universidade Federal do Paraná – UFPR, Rua dos funcionários, 1540, CEP 80035-050, Curitiba, PR, Brazil

Aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae) are considered key pests of strawberry plants (Botton et al. 2010; Cédola and Greco, 2010). Among the aphid species related to this culture, Aphis forbesi Weed, 1889, a monophagous species known as root aphid (Botton et al., 2010) stands out. This species develops on stems along the base of plants, often associated with ants. These ants build nests around the aphid colony, which makes chemical control and fruit harvest difficult (Salles, 2005; Botton et al., 2010).

In August 2010, eight specimens of A. forbesi parasitised on a strawberry plantation grown in Pinhais, PR (25° 25' S and 49° 08' W, 930 asl, Cfb climate) were collected. The parasitoids specimens were identified by Marcelo Teixeira Tavares from the Biological Sciences Department of UFES, Vitoria, Espirito Santo as Lysiphlebus testaceipes (Cression, 1880) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Aphidiinae).

It is a solitary endoparasitoid of aphids distributed over five continents (Rodrigues, 2003). L. testaceipes is one of the most common species of Aphidiinae in South America (Starý et al., 2007). Zanini et al. (2006) reported the occurrence of L. testaceipes parasitising Metopolophium dirhodum aphids (Walker, 1849), Rhopalosiphum maidis (Fitch, 1856), Rhopalosiphum padi (Linné, 1758) and Sitobion avenae (Fabricius, 1775) in the wheat culture in Medianeira, Parana, Brazil. Starý et al. (2007) also reported this species and add 19 aphids species as hosts in Brazil. The use of L. testaceipes as a biological control agent for Aphis gossypii was considered promising by Rodrigues et al. (2001).

The aphid A. forbesi was recorded as a host of L. testaceipes (Cresson, 1880) as well as Adialytus fuscicornis (Ashmead, 1891), Lysiphlebus fabarum (Marshall, 1896) and Trioxys gahanI Smith 1944 (Yu, 2010). This is the first report of the occurrence of Lysiphlebus testaceipes (Cresson), parasitising Aphis forbesi in the strawberry crop in Paraná. This record contributes to a better understanding of the entomofauna associated with the strawberry crop and can support future work on aphids management.

Acknowledgements – We thank CNPq (Conselho Nacional do Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico) and the Ministério da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento (MAPA) for financial support, and Project Taxon line/Universidade Federal do Paraná.

Received October 10, 2011

Accepted June 6, 2012

Distributed February 28, 2013

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Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  18 Apr 2013
• Date of issue
  Feb 2013