ARMADILLOS AS NATURAL PESTS CONTROL? FOOD HABITS OF FIVE ARMADILLO SPECIES IN ARGENTINA

GALLO, JORGE ALBERTO; FASOLA, LAURA; ABBA, AGUSTÍN MANUEL

MASTOZOOLOGí­A NEOTROPICAL

UNIDAD DE ZOOLOGÍA Y ECOLOGÍA ANIMAL, INSTITUTO ARGENTINO DE INVESTIGACIÓN DE LAS ZONAS ARIDAS, CRICYT, CONICET

Lugar: Mendoza; Año: 2019 vol. 26 p. 117 - 127

0327-9383

Armadillos are among the most common mammals in agroecosystems in Argentina. Their insectivorous/omnivorous food habits raise the question about their putative role as pest controllers. The aim ofthis study is to describe the prey items of five armadillo species and evaluate their possible role as naturalpest controllers. The stomach contents of 12 Dasypus hybridus, 10 Chaetophractus vellerosus, 14 Chaetophractusvillosus, 4 Tolypeutes matacus and 9 Zaedyus pichiy were analyzed. We described the diet and identified preyitems to family level, whenever possible, and computed the frequency of occurrence (FO) and relative abundanceof prey items. With these values, the Item Categorization Index (ICI) was calculated to classify the items inorder of importance (primary, secondary and tertiary items). Shannon diversity index was also computed. Thearmadillos studied here consumed arthropod species belonging to families of phytosanitary importance such asAcrididae, Scarabaeidae, Tenebrionidae, Lepidoptera, Formicidae, and Termitidae. Only two armadillos showedprimary items in their diet; Z. pichiy (ants and tenebrionids) and T. matacus (termites and scarabid larvae).Important pest arthropods had FO values close to or greater than 50% in the diet of all armadillos. Armadillosconsumed arthropods that are important pests for agriculture, forestry, and wood construction. Even thoughthis study was mainly focused on armadillos? diet, we suggest that the presence of these native species couldbenefit the productivity and health of agroecosystems by reducing the need for harmful agrochemicals.