Abstract

MONTILLA, Rafael; GARCIA, José Luis; LACRUZ, Luis  and  DURAN, Darío. Spalangia drosophilae ashmead (hymenoptera: pteromalidae) parasiticof pupas of the fly of fragmentation melanoloma viatrix hendel (díptera: richardiidae) in Trujillo, Venezuela. Agronomía Trop. [online]. 2007, vol.57, n.2, pp.107-112. ISSN 0002-192X.

The cultivation of pineapple, Ananas comosus L., represents the main source of income for 1800 familiestrujillanas that are dedicated to this work. Moreover,this activity is source of direct and indirect jobs in theproductive chain. At a national level Trujillo isconsidered as the second state in producing this crop.Since its detection in 1998, the fly of the pineappleMelanoloma viatrix Hendel (Diptera: Richardiidae), hasbeen found causing damages in this crop, affectingseriously the production and commercialization. Amongthe objectives of investigation of the INIA-Trujillo, forthe integral management of this problem, search fornatural enemies of the Melanoloma viatrix is one of the most important. In August of 2005, larvaes of thefly were extracted from a collection of infested fruits, and placed in chambers until the pupa state: into thechambers there was a sterilized and moisted substrate of sawdust and sand (1:1). After the pupas wereobtained, these were exposed during three consecutivedays, to natural environmental conditions in theneighborhood of the laboratory (25°C, 60% RH), toallow parasitization. After that, the pupas wereindividually store in the laboratory until emerging.Among the results, we found that there is a potentialparasitoide of pupas of M. viatrix, identified as Spalangia drosophilae Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae). A brief information of its parasitism isoffered, as well as some photographs.

Keywords : Ananas comosus; biological control; Melanoloma viatrix; parasitoid; Spalangia drosophilae; Venezuela.