Forest fragments' contribution to the natural biological control of Spodoptera frugiperda Smith (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Maize

Abstract

The present work evaluated the influence of forest distance on predatory solitary wasps' abundance and richness and its relation to the natural biological control of the fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda Smith - Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in maize. The study consisted of two parallel lines of six experimental maize plots located at an increasing distance from a forest edge. Four trap-nests were placed in the vertices of each plot of the first line to evaluate the abundance and species richness of predatory solitary wasps. The larvae of the fall armyworm were sampled weekly by inspecting ten randomly chosen plants per plot. Predatory solitary wasp abundance (but not species richness) decreased whilst the fall armyworm abundance increased with the distance from the forest. Moreover, population densities of predatory solitary wasps and the fall armyworm were negatively correlated. Results suggested that the crop plantations located near forest fragments might benefit from the reduced pest problems as a result of increased natural biological control

The effects of landscape structure and crop management on insect community and associated ecosystem services and disservices within coffee plantation

“…Here we provide empirical evidence that forest remnants are sources of natural enemies of a widespread and costly pest in coffee, and that the proportion of forest cover on the landscape increases biodiversity and ecosystem services in a Neotropical region. Similarly, previous studies conducted in Brazil found that forest remnants increase the abundance and diversity of beneficial insects including bees , syrphids , parasitoids (Bortolotto et al, 2016) and predatory wasps (Sousa et al, 2011) in adjacent agroecosystems. Thus, we recommend that agri-environment schemes in Brazilian agricultural landscapes should focus on the conservation of forest remnants and forest restoration in areas of low agricultural importance, abandoned crops and riparian areas at multiple spatial scales.…”

Assessment of trends in predation pressure on insects across temperate forest microhabitats

“…Therefore, forest fragments should also possess heterogeneous and diverse ecotones to support the large predator communities that are important for open habitats (e.g. wasps), and which can serve as biocontrol agents in adjacent patches (Lichtenberg & Lichtenberg, ; Sousa et al ., ). Our results show that there is a wide range of potential predators of insects in the different parts of trees and a possibly high risk of predation at ground level.…”

Social Wasps in Exotic Forest Planting and Atlantic Rainforest in the Neotropical Region

“…In Brazil, some studies have evaluated the effects of fragments of native forest on natural enemies, in crops such as: Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus spp.) (Murta et al, 2008), corn (Zea mays L.) (Sousa et al, 2011) and sugar cane (Saccharum officinarum L.) (Demite et al, 2015;Duarte et al, 2015).…”