Native Hymenopteran parasitoids associated with fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) in fruits and vegetables in three ecological zones of Togo

Abstract

Fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) are major pests associated with fruit and vegetable production in West Africa in general and in Togo in particular. The use of parasitoid wasps to significantly reduce their populations in agroecosystems is a significant component of the integrated management of these pests (IPM-package). To do this, it is important to know their diversity, distribution and potential in controlling fruit flies. In this perspective, the incubation of 28 species of fruits and vegetables sampled in 2009 in ecological zones III, IV and V in Togo allowed to identify five species of native braconid parasitoids: Fopius caudatus Szepligeti, Diachasmimorpha fullawayi Silvestri, Bracon sp., Fopius sp. and Psyttalia sp. F. caudatus was the most abundant making 98.6% of parasitoids recovered. These parasitoids were associated with 4 species of fruit flies, the most abundant being the native species, Ceratitis cosyra (Walker). The parasitism rate in the three ecological zones depended on the locality, the incubated fruit and the fruit fly species. It was relatively low and ranged from 0 to 42.31%, with the highest average rate recorded in the wild fruit, Sarcocephalus latifolius (Sm.) E.A.Bruce, associated exclusively with C. cosyra. Pupae recorded from S. latifolius frequently yielded F. caudatus which was the most abundant. Assessment of the demographic parameters of F. caudatus, a potential candidate for augmentative biological control of C. cosyra in Togo, should be considered under controlled and natural conditions.