Preferencia del parasitoide Lysiphlebus testaceipes Creesson por las asociaciones Aphis gossypii Glover - Solanum melongena L. y Rophalosiphum maidis Fitch - Sorghum bicolor L.

The present study aimed to evaluate the preference of the parasitoid Lysiphlebus testaceipes on the aphids Aphis gossypii and Rophalosiphum maidis. Plants of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L) and egg plant (Solanum melongena L.) were infested with nymphs of the 2nd and 3rd instars of A. gossypii and R.maidis, respectively, and then a newly fertilized female of L. testaceipes was released. From the 3rd day, the parasitoidism percentage and development time of the parasitoid were evaluated. Under the study conditions, L. testaceipes showed a higher preference for R. maidis than A. gossypii, with 54.85% and 38.20% of parasitism in each case. The life cycle was 10.85 days in A. gossypii and about 12.65 days in R. maidis. The results showed that the aphid R. maidis could be used as an alternative host for the reproduction of the parasitoid L. testaceipes on sorghum, a plant used as a barrier in agro-ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]