Carlos Patricio Illescas-Riquelme

In some regions of Veracruz, Mexico, where Persian lemons are cultivated, significant damage caused by thrips have been reported. This damage has been shown to be linked with high populations of Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood (1919), although no information is available regarding other thrips species associated with this crop or their seasonal occurrence. This information is necessary in order to develop management strategies. The objective of this research was to generate knowledge about the diversity and seasonal abundance of thrips species associated with the Persian lemon orchard in Veracruz, México. Thirteen monthly collections were made in two production orchards and one nursery producing certified plants in the municipalities of Tlapacoyan and Tlaltetela. The collected thrips were quantified and identified up to species level. Thirteen taxa were identified: S. dorsalis reaching over 85 % of relative abundance in the Tlapacoyan orchard and the nursery, peaking in July (buds’ stage). Frankliniella insularis Franklin, 1908, was the most abundant species in the Tlaltetela orchard, reaching its maximum population in March during the flowering period. The presence of Pseudodendrothrips mori Niwa, 1908, and P. bhattii Kudo, 1984, were documented for the first time in Mexico. Further sampling is needed in other Persian lemon production areas to determine the presence and seasonality of thrips, particularly S. dorsalis, since high populations are an important limitation for crop productivity.

Introducción. El trips occidental de las flores, Frankliniella occidentalis (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), es una de las plagas más importantes en cultivos hortícolas a nivel mundial (Reitz, 2009). Esta especie provoca daños por su alimentación y oviposición en el tejido vegetal y por la vectorización de virus fitopatógenos (Wijkamp et al., 1995). Las aplicaciones constantes de insecticidas químicos son el método más utilizado para su control, por lo que es necesario desarrollar estrategias alternativas o complementarias para el manejo de esta especie. Varios estudios demostraron que la adición de semioquímicos a trampas pegajosas incrementan la captura de adultos de F. occidentalis (Hamilton et al., 2005). Esto hace posible que los métodos de monitoreo sean más eficientes y que se puedan desarrollar estrategias de trampeo masivo de poblaciones (Cruz-Esteban et al., 2020). Objetivo. Evaluar el efecto de tres dosis de la feromona de agregación neril (S)-2-metilbutanoato en dos poblaciones de F. occidentalis geográficamente separadas en el norte de México. Métodos. Sobre trampas amarillas pegajosas se consideraron las siguientes dosis (1 050 μg, 525 μg y 262.5 μg) de la feromona de agregación neril (S)- metilbutanoato y el tratamiento control en plantaciones de calabaza y pimiento ubicadas en los estados de Durango y Coahuila. Resultados y discusión. En un total se capturaron 23 801 adultos de F. occidentalis, 10 663 de la plantación de pimiento y 13 144 de la de calabaza. La dosis de 525 μg fue el mejor tratamiento, ya que capturó siete veces más trips que el control en pimiento, mientras que en calabaza tres veces más que el control. Conclusión. En ambos casos, las capturas se incrementaron por la adición de la feromona neril (S)-2-metilbutanoato. La dosis del compuesto feromonal neril (S)-2-metilbutanoato puede influir en la atracción dependiendo de las dosis y conforme a las condiciones del medio.

Objetivo. Evaluar la efectividad de productos comerciales utilizados como cebosjugo de granada con manzana, jugo de piña, vinagre de manzana, vino blanco y agua destilada) para capturar adultos de Zaprionus indianus afecta al cultivo de higo (Ficus carica L.) Materiales y métodos. Durante un año se monitoreó un huerto de higo en el norte de Sinaloa, registrando las capturas. Para ello emplearon 20 trampas de plástico transparente reciclados de 1 L, con 20 orificios de 6 mm dispuestos en zigzag, separadas a 5 cm entre sí. Los datos de captura se analizaron mediante ANOVA y prueba de Tukey (α = 0.05); la proporción sexual se evaluó con prueba de t. Resultados. Se capturaron 7 282 ejemplares (3 614 machos, 3 667 hembras, proporción sexual 1:1). El jugo de granada con manzana (Great Value®) fue el más eficaz (575 ± 0.57 adultos por trampa), seguido por el jugo de piña (402 ± 23.70); el vinagre de manzana (251 ± 16.12) y el vino blanco (225 ± 26.74) mostraron menor eficacia; el testigo capturó 8 ± 21.46 adultos. Conclusión. El jugo de granada con manzana destacó para monitorear Z. indianus en higo, superando a otros cebos. La proporción sexual 1:1 indica la detección de ambas poblaciones reproductivas, por lo que este atrayente es práctico y sostenible para el MIP.

In this study, the association between Neosilba batesi (Diptera: Lonchaeidae) and avocado fruits (Persea americana L.) was investigated. Fruits showing signs of rot and infested with Diptera larvae were collected from commercial orchards in the states of Michoacán and Jalisco, Mexico. N. batesi was identified in association with fruits from both trees and the ground at all sampling sites. Furthermore, a phylogenetic analysis based on the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene supported the morphological identification, showing >99% identity with records from Veracruz, and revealed distinct genetic lineages within the Neosilba genus. In a study within one Michoacán orchard, infested tree-borne fruits averaged 5.40 cm in length and 3.90 cm in width, with a mean of 9.61 larvae emerging per fruit. Females were observed to lay eggs in openings between the pedicel and the fruit, never piercing the exocarp. In contrast, on fallen fruit, they utilized existing wounds with exposed pulp. Infested avocados exhibit characteristic spots indicating the presence of internal larvae and generally detach from the tree. Larvae can feed on avocados in various stages of decomposition and may either emerge through wounds or pupate within the fruit. These findings support the opportunistic and saprophagous behavior associated with this fly species.

The black fig fly Silba adipata is an exotic and invasive pest of figs in several producing areas of Mexico. The larvae of this species feed on the internal tissue of the syconium, causing rot and premature drop. In addition to S. adipata, other species of fruit flies can be associated with figs in Mexico. Therefore the recognition of their immature stages is useful for plant health inspection procedures and timely management decisions. This study aimed to describe the egg, larva (L3) and puparium stages of S. adipata, provide photographic material for their recognition and discuss the most important external morphological characteristics to differentiate them from Zaprionus indianus and Anastrepha ludens and discriminated amongst other species of Diptera of the Drosophilidae and Tephritidae families associated with figs.

This study assessed several bioecological aspects of the black fig fly, Silba adipata McAlpine (Diptera: Lonchaeidae), the main pest of fig (Ficus carica L.). Figs were collected from eight sites in the Mexican states of Michoacán (Plan de Ayala, Los Tejones, Antúnez, Tangancícuaro, Indaparapeo, El Carrizal, and Charapendo) and Morelos (Telixtac). No infestation was recorded in figs collected in Charapendo, but, in the remaining sites, it was variable (2–33%). Figs from Plan de Ayala and El Carrizal were longer and contained more larvae than those from Telixtac and Los Tejones. Some figs (≤12) collected in Telixtac and Los Tejones contained few pupae or adults. The survival of larval and pupal stages (≤86%) and the proportion of females (40–53%) were determined at the sites where the infestation of figs was >6% (Telixtac, El Carrizal, Plan de Ayala, and Los Tejones). In the second part of this study, the development of individuals collected in Los Tejones was analyzed under constant conditions. The estimated larval duration time was between 13 and 15 d, whereas pupae lasted 11 d. The survival rate and longevity of females and males were very similar. Our results could help design a program for integrated pest management against S. adipata.

In traditional pest monitoring, specimens are manually inspected, identified, and counted. These techniques can lead to poor data quality and hinder effective pest management decisions due to operational and economic limitations. This study aimed to develop an automatic detection and early warning system using the European Pepper Moth, Duponchelia fovealis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), as a study model. A prototype water trap equipped with an infrared digital camera controlled using a microprocessor served as the attraction and capture device. Images captured by the system in the laboratory were processed to detect objects. Subsequently, these objects were labeled, and size and shape features were extracted. A machine learning model was then trained to identify the number of insects present in the trap. The model achieved 99% accuracy in identifying target insects during validation with 30% of the data. Finally, the prototype with the trained model was deployed in the field for result confirmation.

The European pepper moth, Duponchelia fovealis Zeller (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), is an invasive and polyphagous species that has spread to several countries around the world. Currently there is little information in Mexico on this species. This paper describes and illustrates the characteristics of adults and pupae of both sexes, the male genitalia, and the damage caused by larvae in strawberry plantations. Adults possess several distinctive features that make them recognizable from other pest Lepidoptera, such as the transverse distal line on the forewings, which forms a finger-like figure. The abdomen of females is wide, contrary to males which is thin, tubular and elongated beyond the wings. The sexual differences in pupae are observed in the genital slits located in the 9th abdominal segment. The male slit presents a lobe on each side, while the female lacks these structures. The larvae feed on the roots, stems and fruits of strawberry plants, also allowing the entry of opportunistic pathogens. This information is useful to initiate research that requires live sexed insects, to support species identification and improve monitoring methods.

Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) is an insect of Asian origin and is currently distributed in several countries around the world. It has highly polyphagous habits and has been reported as a primary pest of different fruit, horticultural, and ornamental crops. This species was reported in Mexico in 2020, however, due to its invasive nature and its rapid adaptation to new ecosystems, it is probably present in other regions of the country. The lack of information on this pest has resulted in misidentifications and misdiagnosis at the field level by phytosanitary technicians. In the present work, we found that S. dorsalis is distributed in the states of Veracruz, Sinaloa, Jalisco, and Michoacán in Mexico occupying sites with different climates (warm and temperate) and elevations from 6 to 1,721 m above sea level. Plant reproductive hosts were blackberry (Rubus sp.), blueberry (Vaccinium sp.), Persian lime (Citrus latifolia Tanaka), mango (Mangifera indica L.), and pear (Pyrus communis L.). Through an evaluation of the response of adults toward chromatic traps, we found that this species greatly prefers yellow (×5.40) compared with blue color. More studies are needed on detection and control measures in order to reduce the distribution and economic impact caused by this insect pest in Mexico.