Patterns of egg parasitoids attacking Dalbulus maidis (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) populations at low and high elevation sites in Mexico and Argentina: richness, abundance, and diversity index

MOYA-RAYGOZA, GUSTAVO; LUFT ALBARRACIN, ERICA; VIRLA, EDUARDO G.

ANNALS OF APPLIED BIOLOGY

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Año: 2010

0003-4746

The corn leafhopper Dalbulus maidis is one of the most important pests of maize in Latin America because of its efficiency as a vector of three species of plant pathogens. In spite of its significance, however, little is known about its egg parasitoids. In this study, we present new data on D. maidis egg parasitoids in Mexico and Argentina. We surveyed the egg parasitoids in two locations with different evolutionary statuses with respect to D. maidis migration: Mexico, the center of origin of D. maidis, and Argentina, representing the farthest expansion of the D. maidis population from its center of origin. Using maize plants with sentinel eggs, parasitoids were surveyed in central Mexico and northwestern Argentina, at both low (<1,000) and high (>1,000) elevation sites, during two maize-growing wet seasons. Parasitoids of the families Mymaridae and Trichogrammatidae were found in both countries. Argentinian sites showed the highest richness, with ten species, whereas in Mexico we found six species. Also, the Shannon diversity index was 1.6 times greater in Argentina than in Mexico. Anagrus  breviphragma, a generalist parasitoid, was the only species found attacking eggs of D. maidis in both Mexico and Argentina at both high and low elevations.