Benito Norton Polo, Gudin Filipe Macedo, Silva Elcimar Pereira da, Specht Alexandre, Fidelis Elisangela Gomes, Lopes Rogerio Biaggioni
Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology, Brasília, Federal District, Brazil.
Biosciences Institute - Entomology Dept, Univ of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
Neotrop Entomol. 2025 Mar 19;54(1):47. doi: 10.1007/s13744-025-01262-w.
Owlet moths (Lepidoptera: Noctuoidea) are among the most threatening pests of soybean and maize systems under intensive cropping in tropical and subtropical regions. Their high dispersal, larval polyphagia, and voracious feeding behavior often lead to severe grain production losses. Many parasitoids are associated with owlet moths; however, the ecological importance of larval parasitism in the soybean-maize crop rotation of the Brazilian savanna remains uncertain. We assessed larval parasitism in major lepidopteran pests of soybean and maize crops over three agricultural seasons in eight fields across Brazil's central-west region. Parasitic wasps were more common than tachinids on larvae of all lepidopteran species in both soybean and maize fields over the years. The larval parasitism rate by wasps averaged 9.7% in soybean fields and 13.6% in maize fields, whereas tachinids accounted for only 1.7% of parasitized larvae across both crops. The parasitism rate of Anticarsia gemmatalis Hübner was low in all soybean fields (< 4.9%), in contrast to the ones for Chrysodeixis includens (Walker) (5.9 to 32.5%) and the Spodoptera Guenée complex (4.2 to 29.2%). In maize, parasitism rates of Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) ranged from 8.4 to 26.0% among fields, primarily by Ichneumonidae. The consistent presence of wasps, such as Cotesia Cameron and Campoletis Förster, parasitizing multiple hosts across all soybean and maize fields and seasons highlights their role in the natural biological control of caterpillars in the soybean-maize crop succession. In this sense, this study discusses relevant aspects of conservation biological control within multiple cropping systems.
夜蛾科蛾类（鳞翅目：夜蛾总科）是热带和亚热带地区集约化种植下大豆和玉米系统中最具威胁的害虫之一。它们的高扩散性、幼虫多食性和贪婪的取食行为常常导致严重的粮食产量损失。许多寄生蜂与夜蛾科蛾类相关联；然而，在巴西热带稀树草原的大豆 - 玉米轮作中，幼虫寄生的生态重要性仍不确定。我们在巴西中西部地区的八个田地中，对三个农业季节里大豆和玉米作物的主要鳞翅目害虫的幼虫寄生情况进行了评估。多年来，在大豆田和玉米田中，寄生蜂在所有鳞翅目物种的幼虫上都比寄蝇更为常见。黄蜂对幼虫的寄生率在大豆田中平均为9.7%，在玉米田中为13.6%，而寄蝇仅占两种作物中被寄生幼虫的1.7%。在所有大豆田中，棉铃虫（Anticarsia gemmatalis Hübner）的寄生率都很低（<4.9%），与之形成对比的是，银纹夜蛾（Chrysodeixis includens (Walker)）的寄生率为5.9%至32.5%，以及斜纹夜蛾属（Spodoptera Guenée复合体）的寄生率为4.2%至29.2%。在玉米中，草地贪夜蛾（Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith)）的寄生率在不同田地间为8.4%至26.0%，主要是茧蜂科寄生。诸如茧蜂属（Cotesia Cameron）和 Campoletis Förster 等黄蜂在所有大豆田和玉米田以及各个季节中持续寄生多种寄主，这凸显了它们在大豆 - 玉米作物轮作中对毛虫的自然生物防治作用。从这个意义上讲，本研究讨论了多作系统中保护生物防治的相关方面。
