Egg parasitoids of the corn leafhopper, Dalbulus maidis, in the southernmost area of its distribution range

VIRLA, E.G.; MOYA-RAYGOZA, G.; LUFT ALBARRACIN, E.

JOURNAL OF INSECT SCIENCE

UNIV ARIZONA

Lugar: Arizona; Año: 2013 vol. 13 p. 1 - 7

1536-2442

Egg parasitoids of the corn leafhopper, Dalbulus maidis (DeLong and Wolcott) (Hemiptera:Cicadellidae), were surveyed exposing sentinel eggs of the leafhopper along a latitudinal transectof 600 km in Argentina, the southernmost area of its distribution range. Four parasitoid specieswere obtained: the mymarids Anagrus breviphragma Soyka (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae),Anagrus flaveolus Waterhouse, and Polynema sp., and the trichogrammatid Pseudoligositalongifrangiata (Viggiani) (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae). The low parasitism rate, lowspecies richness, and high proportion of generalist egg parasitoids were quite clear in the southerndistribution limit of the vector, in contrast to regions where corn crops are available all yearround and there are continuous and overlapping generations of the pest. Further studies need tobe done in order to determine the native host of the above egg parasitoids, the seasonalabundance, and the possible occurrence of other species affecting D. maidis populations in thestudied area.