Cereal aphids (Hemiptera: Aphidoidea) in Serbia: Seasonal dynamics and natural enemies

Željko Tomanović,Olivera Petrović-Obradović,Christos G Athanassiou,Petr Starý,Ljubiša Ž Stanisavljević,Nickolas G Kavallieratos

doi:10.14411/eje.2008.064

Abstract

During 1989-2006 the number of live aphid, mummies, aphid specialist predators and their parasitoids in cereal fields in Serbia were recorded. S. avenae and M. dirhodum were the most common, both on wheat and rye crops. Maximum numbers of cereal aphids were detected between the end of May and the middle of June. A low percentage of mummified aphids was recorded during May and June, but increased rapidly at the beginning of July, when aphids left the wheat crop. Here, we record over 60 species of cereal aphid natural enemies, including primary and secondary parasitoids, aphid specific predators and a wide spectrum of their parasitoids in Serbian cereal crop systems. Aphidius uzbekistanicus Luzhetzki, Aphidius rhopalosiphi De Stefani, Aphidius ervi Haliday and Praon gallicum StarĂ˝ were the most abundant species of primary parasitoids. Of the secondary parasitoids, six species were dominant with Asaphes suspensus (Nees) and Dendrocerus carpenteri (Curtis) generally the most often recorded. Coccinella septempunctata L. was the most abundant coccinellid and syrphid flies were represented by 11 species, two of which, Sphaerophoria scripta (L.) and Episyrphus balteatus (DeGeer), were the most common.

Highlights

Cereal agroecosystems make up about 600,000 ha in Serbia, and cereals are one of the most common crops
During 2005, only S. avenae and M. dirhodum were recorded on rye, with the first S. avenae detected at the end of May and M. dirhodum at the beginning of June (Fig. 2c)
The parasitoid complex of cereal aphids in Serbia is similar to that found in the rest of Europe (Starý, 1976; Pankanin-Franczyk & Ceryngier, 1995; Adisu et al, 2002; Sigsgaard, 2002; Lumbierres et al, 2007) but the abundance of the individual species is different

Summary

Introduction

Cereal agroecosystems make up about 600,000 ha in Serbia, and cereals are one of the most common crops. Cereal aphids are one of the most important insect pests limiting cereal production worldwide (Vickerman & Wratten, 1979; Dixon, 1987; D’Arcy & Mayo, 1997). Seasonal dynamics and pest status of cereal aphid species depend on the region and are influenced by a complex of factors (climate, biotype status, seasons, life cycles, agrotechnical practices, natural enemies) (Vickerman & Wratten, 1979; Dean et al, 1981; Plantegenest et al, 1996; Brewer & Elliott, 2004). The seasonal distribution of cereal aphids is affected by climatic conditions and biotic factors such as host plant quality, dispersal efficiency and natural enemies (Mann et al, 1995; Roitberg et al, 1979). Knowledge of the seasonal dynamics of cereal aphids at the field scale could be important for pest management purposes (Winder et al, 1999). The most important cereal aphids in Serbia are Sitobion avenae (F.), Metopolophium dirhodum (Walker) and Rhopalosiphum padi (L.) (Petrović, 1996). Diuraphis noxia (Kurdjumov) occurs sporadically in Serbian wheat fields (Petrović, 1992, 1996; Starý et al, 2003)

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Conclusion