04 Haz 2025 Çarşamba
Predators and parasitoids of aphids (Homoptera: Aphididae) infesting cereal crops in India
Abstract : The present article enlists the predators and parasitoids of the aphids (Aphididae: Hemiptera) infesting cereal crops and their distribution in different states and union territories of India. The highest diversity of predator species is observed feeding on Rhopalosiphum maidis (Fitch), with a total of 72 species. This is followed by Sitobion miscanthi (Takahashi) with 34 species, Melanaphis sacchari (Zehntner) with 26 species, and Rhopalosiphum padi (Linnaeus) with 22 species. The predators belong to one order of class Arachnida: Araneae (families Araneidae, Erisidae, Oxyopidae, Salticidae, Tetragnathidae, Theridiidae, Thomisidae) and 6 orders of class Insecta: Coleoptera (families Staphylinidae, Coccinellidae), Dermaptera (Family Forficulidae), Diptera (families Chamaellidae, Syrphidae), Hemiptera (families Anthocoridae, Geocoridae, Nabidae), Mantodea (Family Mantidae) and Neuroptera (families Chrysopidae, Hemerobiidae). A total of 99 species of predators from various taxa were recorded to feed 13 species of the cereal aphids distributed in 25 states/union territories of India. The highest number of predators belonged to the families Coccinellidae (47 species) and Syrphidae (20 species). Most of the tri-trophic associations (triplets, predators-preys-host plants) of these predators were reported in Uttar Pradesh (62 triplets), Uttarakhand (56 triplets), West Bengal (45 triplets), and other states/union territories less than 40 triplets. All the parasitoids of cereal aphids belong to two subfamilies Aphelininae (Aphelinidae: Hymenoptera) and Aphidiinae (Braconidae: Hymenoptera) in India. A total of 23 species of parasitoids were observed parasitising these aphids infesting 6 cereal crops only in 14 states/union territories of India. Most of the tri-trophic associations of these parasitoids were reported from Uttar Pradesh (47 triplets) followed by Bihar (10 triplets) and others 1-6 triplets. There is no record of aphid parasitoids of cereal aphids in most of the states of northeast and south India. Few efforts have been undertaken to document the natural predators and parasitoids of cereal aphids in India, and a thorough and comprehensive survey strategy is necessary to identify them in unexplored regions.