scholarly journals Biological control of fruit flies in Brazil

Author(s):  
Beatriz Jordão Paranhos ◽  
Dori Edson Nava ◽  
Aldo Malavasi

Abstract: Fruit flies are the main pests of fruit growing in Brazil. They have been managed predominantly with the use of insecticides applied as cover spray and or/as toxic baits. Currently, the trend of management strategies is toward the adoption of methods that cause the lowest environmental impact in large areas. In this context, biological control is an excellent option to be used together with other management strategies, such as sterile insects, because it leaves no residues, does not disturb nontarget pests, and can be permanent if the natural enemy establishes itself in the field. This review paper addresses the current knowledge on the biological control of fruit flies in Brazil, highlighting the great biodiversity of its natural enemies, especially parasitoids, its biology and ecology. The classical biological control programs in Brazil are also reported, from the introduction of Tetrastichus giffardianus (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), in 1937, to control Ceratitis capitata (Diptera: Tephritidae), to that of Fopius arisanus (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), in 2012, to control Bactrocera carambolae (Diptera: Tephritidae). Finally, the obtained advances are pointed out, as well as the main bottlenecks and perspectives for the effective use of biological control programs against fruit flies.

Botany ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 87 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Reid ◽  
Simon F. Shamoun

Many mistletoe species are pests in agricultural and forest ecosystems throughout the world. Mistletoes are unusual “weeds” as they are generally endemic to areas where they achieve pest status and, therefore, classical biological control and broad-scale herbicidal control are usually impractical. In North American coniferous forests, dwarf mistletoe ( Arceuthobium spp.) infection results in major commercial losses and poses a public liability in recreation settings. Hyperparasitic fungi have potential as biological control agents of dwarf mistletoe, including species which attack shoots, berries, and the endophytic systems of dwarf mistletoe. Development of an inundative biological control strategy will be useful in situations where traditional silvicultural control is impractical or undesirable. In southern Australia, farm eucalypts are often attacked and killed by mistletoes ( Amyema spp.) in grazed landscapes where tree decline and biodiversity loss are major forms of land degradation. Although long-term strategies to achieve a balance between mistletoe and host abundance are promoted, many graziers want short-term options to treat severely infected trees. Recent research has revisited the efficiency and efficacy of silvicultural treatments and selective herbicides in appropriate situations. The results of recent research on these diverse management strategies in North America and Australia are summarized.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Firew Bekele Abebe

Lantana camara L. is one of the worst invasive alien species that are categorized worldwide. The objective of this review paper was to review the dispersal and threats posed by Lantana camara L. in Ethiopia and based on review results, to suggest management strategies that can bring solutions to the threats posed by the weed. Both biological characteristics of Lantana camara L. and its dispersal agents have contributed to the success of its dispersal. Even though Lantana camara L. is dispersed in other places within Ethiopia, Debrezeit, Dire Dawa, Harar and Somali are the hotspot areas for the weed. Biodiversity and potential agricultural loss, human and animal health problems and infestation in national parks are the identified threats that Lantana camara L. posed within the country. Utilization of Lantana camara L. for various purposes, prevention of its further dispersal into non-infected areas, use of fire, mechanical and biological control and awareness creation are the suggested management strategies that can bring solutions to the threats posed by the weed within the country.


Insects ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 662
Author(s):  
Flávio R. M. Garcia ◽  
Sérgio M. Ovruski ◽  
Lorena Suárez ◽  
Jorge Cancino ◽  
Oscar E. Liburd

Biological control has been the most commonly researched control tactic within fruit fly management programs. For the first time, a review is carried out covering parasitoids and predators of fruit flies (Tephritidae) from the Americas and Hawaii, presenting the main biological control programs in this region. In this work, 31 species of fruit flies of economic importance are considered in the genera Anastrepha (11), Rhagoletis (14), Bactrocera (4), Ceratitis (1), and Zeugodacus (1). In this study, a total of 79 parasitoid species of fruit flies of economic importance are listed and, from these, 50 are native and 29 are introduced. A total of 56 species of fruit fly predators occur in the Americas and Hawaii.


Author(s):  
Xing-eng Wang

Abstract Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) is native to East Asia but has widely established in the Americas and Europe, where it is a devastating pest of soft-skinned fruits. It has a wide host range and these non-crop habitats harbor the fly which then repeatedly reinvades crop fields. Biological control in non-crop habitats could be the cornerstone for sustainable management at the landscape level. Toward this goal, researchers have developed or investigated biological control tactics. We review over 100 studies, conducted in the Americas, Asia and Europe on natural enemies of D. suzukii. Two previous reviews provided an overview of potential natural enemies and detailed accounts on foreign explorations. Here, we provide an up-to-date list of known or evaluated parasitoids, predators and entomopathogens (pathogenic fungi, bacteria, nematodes, and viruses) and summarize research progress to date. We emphasize a systematic approach toward the development of biological control strategies that can stand alone or be combined with more conventional control tools. Finally, we propose a framework for the integrated use of biological control tools, from classical biological control with host-specific Asian parasitoids, to augmentative and conservation biological control with indigenous natural enemies, to the use of entomopathogens. This review provides a roadmap to foster the use of biological control tools in more sustainable D. suzukii control programs.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angélica Massarolli ◽  
Ana Regina Lucena Hoffmann ◽  
Bruna Magda Favetti ◽  
Alessandra Regina Butnariu

Studies on natural enemies are important to find new species and to develop management strategies to preserve them to help control pests in biological control programs. For the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil, which comprises the Amazon, Cerrado, and Pantanal biomes, few studies have been conducted on the diversity of these parasitoids, possible endemic and/or new species, as well as their potential as natural enemies. Thus, the present study was aimed at describing the diversity of parasitoids of the families Ichneumonidae (Hymenoptera) and Tachinidae (Diptera) associated with pest lepidopterans in soybean crops. Weekly sampling of pest lepidopterans was carried out during four soybean seasons (2009/2010, 2010/2011, 2011/2012 and 2012/2013). Parasitoid larvae were observed in the main lepidopteran pest species of soybean during the four soybean seasons. Three genera of the Ichneumonidae family, belonging to the genera Microcharops Roman, Ophionellus Westwood, and Podogaster Brullé. Six genera of the Tachinidae family occur in the state of Mato Grosso in soybean fields. The following genera were recorded: Archytas spp. Jaennicke, Phorocera spp. Robineau-Desvoidy, Gymnocarcelia spp. Townsend, Lespesia spp. Robineau-Desvoidy, Eucelatoria spp. Townsend, Chetogena spp. Rondani. These parasitoids were found parasitizing caterpillars of the Noctuidae (Lepidoptera), in species that had not yet been reported as hosts for the Neotropical region. Further studies are needed on the beneficial entomofauna and their preservation in agricultural environments.


2017 ◽  
Vol 106 ◽  
pp. 35-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph M. DiTomaso ◽  
Robert A. Van Steenwyk ◽  
Robert M. Nowierski ◽  
Laura A. Meyerson ◽  
Otto C. Doering ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Judith H. Myers

The movement of humans around the earth has been associated with an amazing redistribution of a variety of organisms to new continents and exotic islands. The natural biodiversity of native communities is threatened by new invasive species, and many of the most serious insect and weed pests are exotics. Classical biological control is one approach to dealing with nonindigenous species. If introduced species that lack natural enemies are competitively superior in exotic habitats, introducing some of their predators (herbivores), diseases, or parasitoids may reduce their population densities. Thus, the introduction of more exotic species may be necessary to reduce the competitive superiority of nonindigenous pests. The intentional introduction of insects as biological control agents provides an experimental arena in which adaptations and interactions among species may be tested. We can use biological control programs to explore such evolutionary questions as: What characteristics make a natural enemy a successful biological control agent? Does coevolution of herbivores and hosts or predators (parasitoids) and prey result in few species of natural enemies having the potential to be successful biological control agents? Do introduced natural enemies make unexpected host range shifts in new environments? Do exotic species lose their defense against specialized natural enemies after living for many generations without them? If coevolution is a common force in nature, we expect biological control interactions to demonstrate a dynamic interplay between hosts and their natural enemies. In this chapter, I consider biological control introductions to be experiments that might yield evidence on how adaptation molds the interactions between species and their natural enemies. I argue that the best biological control agents will be those to which the target hosts have not evolved resistance. Classical biological control is the movement of natural enemies from a native habitat to an exotic habitat where their host has become a pest. This approach to exotic pests has been practiced since the late 1800s, when Albert Koebele explored the native habitat of the cottony cushion scale, Icrya purchasi, in Australia and introduced Vadalia cardinalis beetles (see below) to control the cottony cushion scale on citrus in California. This control has continued to be a success.


2002 ◽  
Vol 92 (5) ◽  
pp. 423-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
X.G. Wang ◽  
R.H. Messing

AbstractCompetitive displacement of fruit fly parasitoids has been a serious issue in the history of fruit fly biological control in Hawaii. This concern regarding competitive risk of new parasitoids has led to an overall tightening of regulations against the use of classical biological control to manage fruit flies. Fopius arisanus (Sonan), an egg–larval parasitoid, is the most effective natural enemy of tephritid fruit flies in Hawaii. This study evaluated the competitive risk of two recently introduced larval parasitoids, Diachasmimorpha kraussii Fullaway and Psyttalia concolor (Szépligeti), to F. arisanus attacking the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann). Fopius arisanus won almost all intrinsic competitions against both larval parasitoids through physiological suppression of egg development. 83.3% of D. kraussii eggs and 80.2% of P. concolor eggs were killed within three days in the presence of F. arisanus larvae within the bodies of multi-parasitized hosts. The mechanism that F. arisanus employs to eliminate both larval parasitoids is similar to that it uses against three other early established larval fruit fly parasitoids: F. vandenboschi (Fullaway), D. longicaudata (Ashmead) and D. tryoni (Cameron). It suggests that introduction of these larval parasitoids poses minimal competitive risk to F. arisanus in Hawaii.


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