Natural Biological Control of Diaphania spp. (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) by Social Wasps

The social wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) are important agents of biological control for agricultural pests. Diaphania hyalinata L. and Diaphania nitidalis Cramer (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) are among the main pests of plants in the Cucurbitaceae family. Although the importance of social wasps is acknow...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sociobiology (Chico, CA) CA), 2012-01, Vol.59 (2)
Main Authors: Santana, PA Jr, Gonring, AHR, Picanco, M C, Ramos, R S, Martins, J C, de Oliveira Ferreira, D
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anthicidae
Anthocoridae
Arachnida
Chrysopidae
Coccinellidae
Coleoptera
Crambidae
Cucumis sativus
Cucurbitaceae
Diaphania hyalinata
Diptera
Hemiptera
Hymenoptera
Lepidoptera
Neuroptera
Polybia
Polybia ignobilis
Syrphidae
Vespidae
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The social wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) are important agents of biological control for agricultural pests. Diaphania hyalinata L. and Diaphania nitidalis Cramer (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) are among the main pests of plants in the Cucurbitaceae family. Although the importance of social wasps is acknowledged, little is known about their activity as biological control agents in Diaphania spp. Thus, this work aimed to study the natural biological control of the caterpillars D. hyalinata and D. nitidalis by social wasps. We studied the natural biological control of caterpillars of D. hyalinata and D. nitidalis on cucumber hybrids Sprint 440 II and Vlasstar. The main predators of Diaphania caterpillars were the social wasps, followed by Diptera: Syrphidae; Hemiptera: Anthocoridae; Coleoptera: Coccinellidae, Anthicidae; Neuroptera: Chrysopidae and Arachnida: Araneae. Predation of D. hyalinata caterpillars by social wasps was high from the second to fifth instar. The predation of D. nitidalis caterpillars by social wasps was high from the second to fourth instar. There was no predation by social wasps on the first instar larvae of Diaphania spp. The cucumber hybrids did not influence the predation of Diaphania spp. by social wasps. The main social wasp predator of Diaphania spp. was Polybia ignobilis (Haliday). Also, we observed the social wasp Polybia scutellaris (White) preying on D. hyalinata but at low intensity.
ISSN:0361-6525