Survey on the seasonality of resident parasitoids of Drosophilids in the Andean region of Patagonia: Implications for the biological control of Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae).

FISCHBEIN DEBORAH; CHILLO VERONICA; MASCIOCCHI, MAITE; GERMANO MONICA; CARDOZO ANDREA; KUN MARCELO; MARTINEZ ANDRES

Congreso; 7th Internationl Entomophagous Insect Conference (7IEIC).; 2023

Drosophila suzukii, native to Southeast Asia, is a serious invasive pest of a wide variety of commercial soft-skinned fruits worldwide, including Argentina. Management of the pest in the Andean Patagonia region, where berry fruits are one of the main economic pillars, requires urgent development of multiple locally-adapted tools. We conduct, for the first time, a screening and a survey on the seasonality of resident hymenopteran parasitoid species that could potentially contribute to the local regulation of the pest populations. The screening was carried out in 14 farms using apple cider vinegar traps in addition to collecting fresh fruits from different crop and non-crop host plants. A total of 58 vinegar traps were deployed in four east-west transects, spanning from the edge of the productive valley to its center, encompassing the peripheral native forest, productive fields and urban areas during a calendar year. Individuals of five parasitoid species that could be associated with D. suzukii were captured. These were: Spalangia endius and Pachycrepoideus vindemmiae (pupal parasitoids); and Leptopilina heterotoma, Ganaspis brasiliensis and Hexacola hexatoma (larval parasitoids). Preliminary analyses suggest that parasitoid species composition is similar between transects, whereas variations in abundance between areas and time of the year were detected. The outreaches of the information obtained for the biological control of D. suzukii are discussed.