Abstract
Cotesia flavipes Cameron (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a gregarious larval endoparasitoid of Chilo Partellus (Swinhoe) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) and other stemborers in the Indo-Australian region, was released in Mozambique for the first time in 1996. Before its release, countrywide surveys on stemborers and their natural enemies were conducted in several places. However, all led to the same conclusion: that Ch. partelhis was the most abundant stemborer at the majority of locations, and that the rate of larval parasitism was very low (< 5 %). To evaluate the effect of stemborer species composition on the establishment of Co. flavipes, two releases were made at two agroecologically different sites during the 1998/1999 and 1999/2000 growing seasons. Cotesia flavipes was recovered from all the three stemborer species found at each site during the season of release and a year later. However, the rates of parasitism were very low, ranging from 0.6 to 1.9 % on Ch. partelhis, 3.2 % on Sesamia calamistis Hampson (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and 2.6 % on Busseola fusca Fuller (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). The native natural enemy, Cotesia sesamiae (Cameron) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) was the most common larval parasitoid at the two sites. The recoveries of Co. flavipes during the release period and a year later indicate that this exotic parasitoid has become established at the two locations in the southern and central regipns of Mozambique, in spite of differences in stemborer species composition. However, it is too early to evaluate the impact of Co. flavipes on the stemborer populations.
Résumé
Cotesia flavipes Cameron (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), un endoparasitoïde larvaire grégaire de Chilo partelhis (Swinhoe) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) et d’autres foreurs des tiges de la région Indo-Australienne, a été relâché au Mozambique pour la première fois en 1996. Avant d’être relâché, des enquêtes sur les foreurs des tiges et leurs ennemis naturels ont été menées à travers tout le pays dans différents endroits. Elles aboutissent toutes à la conclusion que Ch. partelhis est le foreur des tiges le plus abondant dans la majorité des localités, et que le taux de parasitisme larvaire est très bas (< 5 %). Afin d’évaluer les effets de la composition en espèces de foreurs des tiges sur l’acclimatationt de Co. flavipes, deux lâchers ont été réalisés dans deux zones agroécologiques différentes pendant les saisons culturales 1998/1999 et 1999/2000. Cotesia flavipes a été retrouvé dans toutes les espèces de foreur des tiges rencontrées dans chacune des zones étudiées durant la saison du lâcher et l’année suivante. Cependant, les taux de parasitisme ont été très bas, compris entre 0,6 et 1,9 % sur Ch. partelhis, 3.2 % sur Sesamia calamistis Hampson (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) et 2.6 % sur Busseola fusca Fuller (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). L’ennemi naturel indigène, Cotesia sesamiae (Cameron) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) a été le parasitoïde larvaire le plus commun dans les deux zones. La récupération de Co.flavipes pendant la période de lâcher et une année plus tard indique que ce parasitoïde exotique s’est établi dans les deux localités dans les régions du sud et du centre du Mozambique, en dépit d’une différence de composition en espèces des foreurs des tiges. Il est cependant trop tôt pour évaluer l’impact de Co.flavipes sur les populations de foreurs des tiges.
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Cugala, D., Overholt, W.A., Santos, L. et al. Release of Cotesia flavipes Cameron for Biological Control of Cereal Stemborers in Two Ecological Zones in Mozambique. Int J Trop Insect Sci 21, 303–310 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1017/S1742758400008390
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1742758400008390