INTERSPECIFIC COMPETITION BETWEEN NATIVE AND EXOTIC FRUIT FLY PARASITOIDSIN MIXED ORCHARDS IN MACEIO, ALAGOAS, BRAZIL

Abstract

ABSTRACT The objective of this work was to assess the effects of the release and establishment of the exotic parasitoid Diachasmimorpha longicaudata (Ashmead, 1905) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) and its interspecific competitive relationship with native fruit fly parasitoids in organic and conventional orchards in Maceio, State of Alagoas, Brazil. The exotic parasitoids were reared in the Radio-Entomology Laboratory of the Center for Nuclear Energy in Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, São Paulo, and released (112,350 individuals between five and eight days old) in orchards from June 8 to July12, 2013.Fruit samples were collected randomly every week during one year to assess the D. longicaudata recaptured from plants and fallen fruits on the ground, which were taken to the Entomology Laboratory of the CECA-UFAL, classified and individually placed in plastic containers, containing a layer of 1 cm of sand for pupation of the host larvae. The pupae, obtained after 10 days, were placed in Petri dishes with a layer of sand until the emergence of adults, which were then kept in plastic microtubes, containing ethanol 70%. The release of exotic parasitoids did not displace native species. The same species were found before and after the release in both cultures: Doryctobracon areolatus, Asobara anastrephae, Utetes anastrephae and Opius bellus (Braconidae), Aganaspis pelleranoi (Figitidae) and individuals of the Pteromalidae family. One year after the last release, 44 individuals of the exotic parasitoid were found, showing its establishment in the studied areas.