Cereal aphids (Hemiptera: Aphidoidea) in Serbia: Seasonal dynamics and natural enemies

Abstract

During 1989-2006 the number of live aphid, mummies, aphid specialist predators and their parasitoids in cereal fields in Serbia were recorded. S. avenae and M. dirhodum were the most common, both on wheat and rye crops. Maximum numbers of cereal aphids were detected between the end of May and the middle of June. A low percentage of mummified aphids was recorded during May and June, but increased rapidly at the beginning of July, when aphids left the wheat crop. Here, we record over 60 species of cereal aphid natural enemies, including primary and secondary parasitoids, aphid specific predators and a wide spectrum of their parasitoids in Serbian cereal crop systems. Aphidius uzbekistanicus Luzhetzki, Aphidius rhopalosiphi De Stefani, Aphidius ervi Haliday and Praon gallicum Starý were the most abundant species of primary parasitoids. Of the secondary parasitoids, six species were dominant with Asaphes suspensus (Nees) and Dendrocerus carpenteri (Curtis) generally the most often recorded. Coccinella septempunctata L. was the most abundant coccinellid and syrphid flies were represented by 11 species, two of which, Sphaerophoria scripta (L.) and Episyrphus balteatus (DeGeer), were the most common.