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Natural Enemies of Insect Pests in Neotropical Agroecosystems pp 35–47Cite as

Plants as Food for Adult Natural Enemies

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Abstract

Currently, the Latin-American agriculture faces a great productive paradigm: to meet the high demand for food, but through an agriculture with environmental and social responsibility, with low use of synthetic pesticides. In this new scenario, conservative biological control acquires great relevance since it allows to reduce, in the long term, populations of arthropod pests associated with agricultural crops, but respecting the demands of consumers. To favor conservative biological control, farmers must make modifications to agroecosystems, so that natural enemies may remain in the fields and increase their populations. Furthermore, they need to know that, as adults, natural enemies require food sources other than prey. The management of agricultural habitat through the conservation of spontaneous vegetation or the incorporation of so-called insectary plants—plants with flowers that attract and maintain their nectar and pollen resources—is fundamental. Not only does this functional flora provide natural enemies with sources of proteins and carbohydrates, but also offers shelter from adverse weather conditions and/or predators. Moreover, they are also provided with alternative prey, especially when food is scarce in the fields. In this chapter, we provide information on the importance of plants as sources of food for adults of natural enemies, with a view to promoting sustainable agriculture.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias INIA, Centro Regional de Investigación Intihuasi, La Serena, Coquimbo Region, Chile

    Claudio Salas

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  1. Claudio Salas
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Correspondence to Claudio Salas .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Entomology, Federal University of Lavras (UFLA), Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Brígida Souza

  2. Instituto de Investigaciones de Sanidad Vegetal (INISAV), Miramar, La Habana, Cuba

    Luis L. Vázquez

  3. Federal University of Lavras (UFLA), Department of Entomology, Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Rosangela C. Marucci

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Salas, C. (2019). Plants as Food for Adult Natural Enemies. In: Souza, B., Vázquez, L., Marucci, R. (eds) Natural Enemies of Insect Pests in Neotropical Agroecosystems. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24733-1_4

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