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The sugarcane aphid, Melanaphis sacchari, is a worldwide pest that significantly affects sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench. In the USA this pest can cause up to 100% yield losses, mainly when no action is taken to control this pest. In this study, the potential of three species of Chrysoperla for biological control of M. sacchari was assessed by comparing predation capacity and functional responses of the three species. Individuals of Chrysoperla carnea were collected in a crop of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in the State of Guanajuato, México, while C. externa and C. comanche were obtained from a laboratory colony reared on cereal moth, Sitotroga cerealella (Olivier), and from a commercial planting of pecan, Carya illinoensis (Wangenh), respectively. Our results suggested that C. carnea is a good option for an augmentative biological control program against M. sacchari in sorghum because the species had a mean predation capacity of 119.4 nymphs in 24 hours, and a type II functional response; they were able to locate and consume 80% of their prey even at the low prey density of 64. C. carnea had a high coefficient of attack (0.10) and a short handling time (0.10 hour) compared to the other Chrysoperla species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A total of 21 species of Chrysopidae occurring in the State of Morelos are presented, these are included in nine genera in the subfamily Chrysopinae. A key is given for the genera as well as keys to species in each genus and diagnosis and distribution data for each species. The identified species were as follows: Ceraeochrysa cincta (Schneider), Ceraeochrysa cubana (Hagen), Ceraeochrysa everes (Banks), Ceraeochrysa sanchezi (Navás), Ceraeochrysa valida (Banks), Chrysopa sp., Chrysoperla comanche (Banks), Chrysoperla exotera (Navás), Chrysoperla rufilabris (Burmeister), Eremochrysa hageni Banks, Leucochrysa maculata Navás, Leucochrysa pretiosa Banks, Leucochrysa texana Adams, Meleoma antennensis Tauber, Meleoma colhuaca Banks, Meleoma mexicana Banks, Meleoma pipai Tauber, Meleoma tezcucana (Banks), Plesiochrysa brasiliensis (Schneider), Plesiochrysa elongata (Navás) y Yumachrysa apache (Banks); 15 species are new records for Morelos, one of which (P. elongata) is a new record for Mexico. Ceraeochrysa and Meleoma were the genera with the largest number of species although Ceraeochrysa was the genus with the largest number of individuals. The most important species as far as their abundance in descending order were: Ceraeochrysa cincta, C. valida, C. cubana, Leucochrysa texana y Chrysoperla comanche. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]