Diversity of lepidopteran stemborers and their parasitoids on maize and wild hosts in the rain forest of Kisangani, DR Congo
Survey to increase knowledge on stemborers and their parasitoids, and help develop sound pest management
Abstract
The spread of grasses is evident in the Kisangani zone, DR Congo rain forest, which might have some consequences for the conservation biological control of maize stemborers in areas where agriculture is practiced. Little is known about the ecology of stemborers and their natural enemies in the rain forest of the DR Congo
Thus, a survey was carried out on maize and wild host plants, to increase the knowledge on stemborers and their parasitoids in the country, and help develop sound pest management strategies. The study unveils a diversity of lepidopteran stemborers and their associated parasitoid species (both on maize and wild host plants) in the rain forest of DR Congo. It also shows that stemborers infesting maize share many parasitoid species with those feeding on wild grasses.
This work is an output of the ‘Noctuid Stem Borer Biodiversity’ project, It was partly funded by the UK Department for International Development, a core donor of the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology.
Citation
Kankonda O.M., Akaibe B.D., Ong’amo G.O. and Le Ru B.P. (2017) Diversity of lepidopteran stemborers and their parasitoids on maize and wild hosts in the rain forest of Kisangani, DR Congo. Phytoparasitica 45, 57–69. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12600-017-0561-6