Aphid parasitoids (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Aphidiinae) and their associations related to biological control in Brazil

Aphid parasitoids (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Aphidiinae) and their associations related Aphid parasitoids (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Aphidiinae) and their associations related to biological control in Brazil 107 Petr Starý1, Marcus Vinicius Sampaio2,3 & Vanda Helena Paes Bueno2 1 Institute of Entomology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Branisovská 31, Ceské Budejovice 370 05 Czech Republic. Departamento de Entomologia, Universidade Federal de Lavras. Caixa Postal 37, 37200-000, Lavras-MG, Brazil. 3 Present address: Instituto de Ciências Agrárias, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Campus Umuarama. Caixa Postal 593, 38400-902, Uberlândia-MG, Brazil. 2 ABSTRACT. Aphid parasitoids (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Aphidiinae) and their associations related to biological control in Brazil. This study evaluated the parasitoid-aphid-plant associations in Brazil with the objective of developing a useful research database for further studies of aphid parasitoid ecology and aphid management. The original material was obtained from collections made in Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, Minas Gerais, and São Paulo states. The published information on the Aphidiinae in Brazil is revised. The general features of the target parasitoid fauna of Central and South America is summarized and promising biological control programs of some aphid species in Brazil is discussed. KEYWORDS. Aphid; host range; insect-plant interactions. RESUMO. Parasitóides (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Aphidiinae) de pulgões e suas interações relacionadas ao controle biológico no Brasil. Este trabalho avaliou as interações parasitóides-pulgão-planta no Brasil, com o objetivo de desenvolver um banco útil de dados para estudos subseqüentes em ecologia de parasitóides de afídeos e manejo de pulgões. O material original foi obtido de coletas nos estados do Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, Minas Gerais e São Paulo, sendo revisadas as informações sobre Aphidiinae publicadas no Brasil. Foram também sumarizadas as caracteristicas gerais da fauna de parasitóides das Américas Central e do Sul e discutidos os programas potenciais de controle biológico de algumas espécies de pulgões no Brasil. PALAVRAS-CHAVE. Afídeo; gama hospedeira; interação inseto-planta. An overall research interest in Aphidiine parasitoids of aphids has increased all over the world. Aphid pest problems and ecological aspects of their control undoubtedly contributed positively to this state. Searches for potentially useful biological control agents in the pest origin center frequently have demonstrated relatively poor knowledge in many areas and the same has been determined in subsequent research efforts targeting parasitoid release and establishment. These studies have also demonstrated a need for broader ecological studies of the local fauna, ecological associations and inter-relationships, and also management problems. Aphidiine parasitoids were also found to be rather useful subjects for several fundamental studies. These studies may be essential for the applied research or stimulated by problems found in it. Until the end of the 70’s only three species of aphid parasitoids (Braconidae: Aphidiinae) Aphidius colemani Viereck, 1912, Diaeretiella rapae (M’Intosh, 1855), and Lysiphlebus testaceipes (Cresson, 1880) were known occur in Brazil (Araújo e Silva et al. 1968; Bartoszeck 1975, 1976a b; Pimenta & Smith 1976; Gravena 1979; De Santis 1980; Lázzari 1985). The species on the genus Ephedrus Haliday were found parasitizing Brachycaudus persicae (Passerini) (Araújo e Silva et al. 1968). The parasitoid Aphidius platensis Brèthes, 1913 (Starý 1975) and other species mentioned in the South American literature (Aphidius chilensis Brèthes, 1912, Aphidius huebrichi Brèthes, 1913, Aphidius porteri Brèthes, 1915 and Diaeretus porteri Brèthes, 1910) were recognized as synonyms of A. colemani (Starý 1995). Finally, Aphidius brasiliensis Brèthes, 1918 (Araújo e Silva et al. 1968, De Santis 1980) and Aphidius ohioensis Smith, 1944 (Bartoszeck 1975, 1976a) were, probably, a case of synonym and a misidentification of A. colemani, respectively (see below, review of parasitoid-aphidplant associations, to more details). New introductions of aphid parasitoid species occurred in the end of the 70´s within a framework of a biological control program of wheat aphids. Some biological control programs have yielded spectacular results in some South American countries and parasitoid contribution is also rather significant for aphid control in Brazil. Biological control of wheat aphids in Brazil is a good example of a successful program. It started in 1979 targeting the aphid species pests Metopolophium dirhodum (Walker, 1849), Schizaphis graminum (Rondani, 1852), and Sitobion avenae (Fabricius, 1775). Twelve aphidiine species were introduced in six States until 1992. The program was considered successful and high aphid populations on wheat crops in the 70’s were drastically reduced in the 80’s (Starý 1980; Gassen & Tambasco 1983; Salvadori & Salles 2002). Four species of aphid parasitoids were established in Rio Grande do Sul state (Aphidius ervi Haliday, 1834, Aphidius rhopalosiphi DeStefani-Perez, 1902, Aphidius uzbekistanicus Luzhetzki, 1960 and Praon volucre (Haliday, 1833)), but their host range was related mainly to grass aphids (Zuñiga-Salinas 1982). A more extensive study was made by Tavares (1991, Revista Brasileira de Entomologia 51(1): 107-118, março 2007 108 Starý et al. 1996) in São Paulo state, who recovered only P. volucre, from the introduced species, and three new records were added to aphid parasitoid species in Brazil (Aphidius rosae Haliday, 1834, Aphidius salicis Haliday, 1834, and Ephedrus persicae Froggatt, 1904). After this period, very limited records focusing the postcolonization and the host range of aphid parasitoids on some cultivated plants were found in Brazil (Auad et al. 1997; SousaSilva et al., 1998; Lara et al. 1999; Fernandes et al. 2000; Mendes et al., 2000; Pinto et al. 2000; Cividanes 2002; Mussury & Fernandes. 2002; Ronquim et al. 2004; Zanini et al. 2006), and still fewer were found on ornamentals (Peronti 1999; Imenes et al. 2002; Carvalho et al. 2006). Moreover, this information is scattered in the literature and a compilation of these data is necessary. Cinara pinivora Wilson, 1919 and Cinara atlantica Wilson, 1919 were detected as pests on pine in Brazil in the end of 90’s, but no parasitoids were found in the local fauna (Penteado et al. 2000). The parasitoid species Xenostigmus bifasciatus (Ashmead, 1891) was introduced from USA to the states of Paraná, Santa Catarina and São Paulo, in 2002 and 2003, and it has became established in Brazil, and dispersing 80 Km per year from the release point (Reis-Filho et al. 2004; Oliveira 2006). For these reasons, we have found useful to summarize the information about aphid-plant-parasitoid associations developing a useful research database for further studies. So, this study is focused in the associations o (...truncated)