Diversity of planthoppers (Homoptera: Fulgoromorpha) in rice associated with weeds in Argentina

A.M.MARINO DE REMES LENICOV; MARIANI R.; MACIÁ A.; TOLEDO, A. V.; BRENTASSI, M.E.; ROSSI BATIZ, M.F.; CATALANO, M.I.; PARADELL, S.

STUDIES ON NEOTROPICAL FAUNA AND ENVIRONMENT

TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2014 p. 1 - 11

0165-0521

An assemblage of Fulgoromorpha in a rice agroecosystem from La Plata city was studied for the first time in Argentina, considering those species associated with rice and the surrounding weeds, their seasonality, sex ratios and parasitoidism. Samples were obtained from 2006 to 2010 in a rice field and in the surrounding weeds. Fourteen species from three families of Fulgoromorpha were associated with rice, most of them native species. The delphacids Chionomus haywardi, Toya propinqua and Delphacodes kuscheli were the most abundant on rice. Population peaks occurred after flooding of rice and before anthesis. The native C. haywardi was more abundant in rice than in weeds, while the opposite was confirmed for T. propinqua, a well-known cosmopolitan grass specialist. The difference of abundances of D. kuscheli in rice and weeds was not significant. Our results highlight the dominance of C. haywardi during all sampling years in the rice agroecosystem as well as the role of surrounding weeds as an alternative microhabitat for planthoppers instead of rice. The strepsipteran Elenchus tenuicornis was the only recorded parasitoid and showed no preference for any of the insect hosts.