Book of Abstracts
11th IFOAM
Scientific Conference
11-15 August 1996
Copenhagen, Denmark

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Plant Communities as Refuges of Eulophids E9

Gumovsky, A. V.

All-Ukrainian ecological club »CENOS«, Dept. of systematics of entomophages and ecological principles of biological pest control, SchmalhausenInstitute of Zoology, Bogdan Khmelnitsky Street, 15, Kiev 252601, Ukraine

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Parasitoids are most distributed group of entomophages, named also »beneficial insects«, and being ones of agents of biological pest control. However, attention to probabilities of their attraction to agroecosystems was taken just recently. Besides, most of successfully realized attempts of biocontrol took place in agroecosystems surrounded by wild natural plant communities. This fact could be explained by development of the parasitoids on additional (auxiliary) hosts, inhabiting wild environment. Our research was dealt with studying on chalcid wasps of family Eulophidae (about 100 species from 26 genera only in apple-orchards) in diverse biotopes bordering upon agrocoenoses.

There were three types of associations:

1. Trees and surrounded grasses. These plant associations are reservations of pest leaf-miner parasitoids from genera Sympiesis, Pnigalio, Dicladocerus, Cleolophus, Dahlbominus, Necremnus, Rhicnopelte, Pediobius, Achrysocharoides, Derostenus.

2. Grasslands with short-stem grasses of Fabaceae (Lotus, Trifolium, Melilotus, Genista, etc.) and Asteraceae (Artemisia, Achillea, Marticaria) can be refuges of species from genera Entedon, Chrysonotomyia, Tetrastichus, Asecodes, Euplectrus, Elachertus, Hemiptarsenus, Chrysocharis, etc. The species are parasitoids ofl eaf-miners and stem-borers.

3. Grasslands with high-stem grasses of Crufiaceae (Erysimum, Barbarea, Raphantus, etc.), Scrophulariaceae (Verbascum, Linaria, Veronica, etc.) and Asteraceae (Artemisia, Cirsium, Onopordon, etc.) are refuges of representatives of genera Entedon, Pediobius, Cirrospillus, Eutetrastichus, Chrysocharis, etc. The species are parasitoids of ectophagous pests and many stem-borers and gall-formers.

The plant communities noticed above can be also refugiums of much more wider spectrum of flora and fauna, and they are rich of nectariferous flowers attracting insect-pollinators. So, presence of a pollinators can actually increase crop yields. The natural plant communities can substitute for or be effectively accompanied with using of artificial plant communities, such as »Border Patrol«. But protection of natural plant communities attracting beneficial insects is more environmental action and serious step for harmonic integrating of agroecosystems to environment.

Zerova, M. D., Tolkanits, V. I., Kotenko, A. G. (1989): Entomophages of pest of apple-trees in south-west region of the USSR. Kiev, Naukova Dumka. 276 pp.

Arnauduc, J. P. (1994) : »Wildlife« fallows. Naturopa, N- 76, p. 12-13.

Beneficial insects. Organic Gardening with Bountiful Gardens, 1995 Catalog, p. 68-69.