First Report of Native Parasitoids of Fall Armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda Smith (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Mozambique

Abstract

The alien invasive insect pest Spodoptera frugiperda Smith (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), commonly referred to as fall armyworm (FAW), is causing significant losses to maize production in Africa since its detection in 2016. As an emergency response, governments in several countries distributed and/or promoted massive use of synthetic insecticides among smallholder farmers to fight FAW. The inappropriate use of synthetic insecticides by non-trained and ill-equipped farmers raises environmental and health concerns. This study aimed to assess the occurrence of native parasitoids of FAW, their parasitism rates, and relative abundance in the central province of Manica, Mozambique. A field collection of FAW egg masses and larvae was conducted from May to August 2019 (dry season of the 2018/2019 cropping season) and in December 2019 and January 2020 (rainy season of 2019/2020 cropping season). A total of 101 egg masses and 1444 larvae of FAW were collected from infested fields. Five larval parasitoids were recorded, but no egg parasitism was observed. Coccygidium luteum Brullé (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) and Drino quadrizonula Thomson (Diptera: Tachinidae) were the primary parasitoids. Maximum parasitism of 23.68% and 8.86% and relative abundance of 100 and 96.3 were recorded for C. luteum and D. quadrizonula, respectively. Total parasitism by different parasitoid species was at 9.49%. Cultural practices favoring the action of these parasitoids should be advocated.

Parasitoid Distribution and Parasitism of the Fall Armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Different Maize Producing Regions of Uganda

“…The overall level of parasitism by the different parasitoids was generally low, averaging 9.2%. This compares with the 9.5% parasitism of FAW reported in Mozambique [ 83 ]. The parasitism rate by Che.…”

Natural enemies of the fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda (Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Burkina Faso

“…Presently, little information is available on natural enemies of the fall armyworm in Africa (21) and Asia (22). Although, some recent studies reported natural enemies of fall armyworm in Tanzania, Kenya and Ethiopia (15), Senegal (18), Benin, Ivory Coast and Ghana (17,21,23), Niger (24), Mozambique (25) and India (4,20,22). These studies indicated that the natural enemy complex associated with fall armyworm varies between countries, even though some species (i.e., Coccygidium spp., Chelonus spp., Campoletis spp., Metopius spp., Trichogramma spp., Telenomus sp., Hexamermis sp.…”

Managing a Transboundary Pest: The Fall Armyworm on Maize in Africa

“…On the other hand, species in the genus Chelonus that were reported to have wide geographical distribution in the Americas [74] and Australia [75], has equally been documented in some parts of Africa (Uganda, Benin, Ghana, etc). In the case of egg parasitoids parasitism of up to 64% were observed in Niger following augmentative release of T. remus in sorghum fields [76]. Larval parasitism is still low averaging 9.2 and 9.5% in Uganda and Mozambique, respectively [70,72].…”