Parasitoids of Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Found in Nayarit, Mexico

Abstract

We identified fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) parasitoids in maize by collecting 1,836 first-third instar larvae during 2012 and spring-summer of 2013 at seven municipalities in the state of Nayarit, Mexico. A total of 284 larvae was parasitized, resulting in a parasitism rate of 15.4\%. In the Hymenoptera Order, we identified six species of Braconidae including Chelonus cautus which is the first record for Nayarit, and three species of Ichneumonidae. Also, we identified several species from Scelionidae, Chloropidae, and Tachinidae families of Diptera. The highest rate of parasitism was 42.3\% was achieved by four species in the municipality of San Pedro Lagunillas in August 2013.