Phytoparasitica (2017) 45, 57-69

Onésime Mubenga Kankonda, Benjamin Dudu Akaibe, George Otieno Ong'amo and Bruno-Pierre Le Ru (2017)
Diversity of lepidopteran stemborers and their parasitoids on maize and wild host plants in the rain forest of Kisangani, DR Congo
Phytoparasitica 45 (1), 57-69
Abstract: Lepidopteran stemborers are considered as the most important insect pests of cereal crops in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, limited information exists on stemborers and their parasitoids in the rain forest of the DR Congo. In order to enhance the understanding of the pest ecology, sampling in both cultivated and wild habitats has been recommended as a bottom line to any action aiming at the design of pest management measures. Following this recommendation, a survey was carried out in the rain forest of the DR Congo on maize and wild host plants. We collected eighteen stemborer and one earborer species belonging to 5 families. Five species were found feeding on maize while 18 species fed on wild host plants. Busseola fusca was the commonest species feeding on maize which accounted for 50.1%. At least 20 parasitoids species distributed as 15 species on maize and 16 species in the wild habitats were recovered during this study. Cotesia sesamiae, Enicospilus ruscus and Sturmiopsis parasitica accounted for 99.8% of interactions within parasitoid community. Out of nineteen wild host plants encountered, Pennisetum purpureum and Vossia cuspidata were the most speciose grasses in terms of both parasitoids and stemborers. The implications of such diversity and network structure are discussed.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): George Otieno Ong'amo, Bruno Le Rü

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
surveys/sampling/distribution
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
surveys/distribution/isolation

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Busseola fusca	Maize/corn (Zea mays)	Congo-Democratic Republic
Cotesia sesamiae (parasitoid)			Congo-Democratic Republic
Sturmiopsis parasitica (parasitoid)			Congo-Democratic Republic