International Journal of Tropical Insect Science (2006) 26, 57-63
Claudio Nunes, Éric Lucas and Daniel Coderre (2006)
Parasitisme de Bemisia tabaci (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) en cultures maraîchères en tropique sec nicaraguayen
International Journal of Tropical Insect Science 26 (1), 57-63
Abstract: The parasitism of Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) was evaluated on three horticultural crops in the Nicaraguan dry tropic: tomato, Lycopersicon esculentum Mill; squash, Cucurbita argyrosperma (Huber); and sweet pepper, Capsicum annuum L. Parasitoid species were identified and their abundance recorded on the three crops. The study was carried out during both the rainy and dry seasons between 2001 and 2002. The nymphs of B. tabaci were counted weekly and parasitism rates evaluated. During the rainy season, the predominant parasitoids in squash and tomato crops were Encarsia pergandiella Howard and E. nigricephala Dozier. Parasitism rates of 17 and 10% were recorded for squash and tomato, respectively. In sweet pepper, the parasitoid species were E. pergandiella, E. nigricephala, E. desantisi Viggiani and Amitus sp. with a parasitism rate of 12%. During the dry season, the parasitoids in squash were E. pergandiella and E. nigricephala with a parasitism rate of 57%. Encarsia pergandiella was the only species noted in tomato with a parasitism rate of 58%, while in sweet pepper the species noted were E. pergandiella and E. nigricephala, with a 42% rate of parasitism. The abundance of parasitoids remained stable during both sampling seasons. Our results suggest that the parasitism rate is independent of B. tabaci densities. This is the first mention of E. pergandiella, E. nigricephala, E. desantisi and Amitus sp. as parasitoids of B. tabaci in Nicaragua.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
(original language: French)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Éric Lucas, Daniel Coderre
Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
surveys/distribution/isolation
