Natural Parasitism of the Citrus Leafminer (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae) Over Eight Years in Seven Citrus Regions of São Paulo, Brazil

Abstract

The citrus leafminer (CLM) Phyllocnistis citrella Stainton (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae) was first recorded in Brazil in 1996. In 1998, the parasitoid Ageniaspis citricola Logvinovskaya (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) was introduced and established in many regions of the country. In this study, 130 onehour-samplings of sweet orange leaves (Citrus sinensis [L.] Osbeck) hosting CLM pupal chambers were carried out to estimate the CLM parasitism rate (%) by its parasitoids in 7 regions of São Paulo State between 2000 and 2008. The sample sizes varied from 10 to 275 leaves (mean = 65). The most abundant parasitoid was the encyrtid A. citricola (found in 91.8% of the samplings). The highest level of CLM parasitism by A. citricola was recorded in the southern region (Botucatu), 70.2 ± 6.6 (mean ± SEM), and the lowest level was recorded in the northern region (Barretos), 12.8 ± 5.7%. CLM parasitism by A. citricola and by native parasitoids (Galeopsomyia fausta LaSalle, Cirrospilus spp. and Elasmus sp.) did not differ between seasons. The 6-fold increase in the use of insecticides in citrus groves, after 2004 when the Huanglongbing (HLB) disease was found in São Paulo State, did not reduce the level of CLM parasitism. The level of parasitism was 50.8 ± 4.2% before the advent of HLB (2000HLB ( -2004HLB ( ) and 56.0 ± 4.4% thereafter (2005HLB ( -2008, indicating adaptation of A. citricola in a disturbed agroecosystem.

Dinâmica populacional de minador dos citros em pomares de laranja De Russas no semiárido cearense

“…No entanto, tem crescido a adoção de métodos alternativos, que apresentem eficácia no controle do micro lepidóptero, más também segurança aos produtores, consumidores e meio ambiente; e seletividade a organismos não-alvo, como polinizadores e inimigos naturais; destacando-se o controle biológico utilizando Ageniaspis citricola Logvinovskaya (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) (Cônsoli et al, 1996;Yamamoto, 2008). A microvespa parasita o ovo e o primeiro estágio da larva, e sua presença nos pomares pode resultar em parasitismos de até 76%, reduzindo significativamente a população do minador dos citros, e com isso, as contaminações pela bactéria do cancro cítrico (Gravena, 2011;Paiva & Yamamoto, 2015;De Morais et al, 2016).…”

Sustainability in Brazilian Citriculture: Three Decades of Successful Biological Control of Insect Pests

“…The introduction of the parasitoid succeeded in containing the growth of the pest (Parra, 2021). Even after HLB appeared in Brazil, resulting in systematic applications of pesticides to control the Asian citrus psyllid,studies suggest that this parasitoid was able to survive in the field, since the percentage of citrus plants with A. citricola oscillated only between 56.23 and 60.55% (Paiva and Yamamoto, 2015). Figure 3 shows that the parasitoid has adapted to different citrus-producing regions in Brazil, suggesting that it is resistant to the agrochemicals applied in the field.…”

Use of Parasitoids as a Biocontrol Agent in the Neotropical Region: Challenges and Potential

“…Many native CLM parasitoids were identified in citrus groves in Brazil [57]. However, based on the parasitism potential of Ageniaspis citricola and the successful biological control of CLM achieved in other countries, it was decided to introduce this parasitoid in 1998 [58] (Figure 4). Ageniaspis citricola was soon established in several Brazilian states and it became the most common CLM parasitoid [59,60].…”