The first report to record the parasitoids of the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda in Egypt

Abstract

The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is a harmful pest of many plants. In Egypt, the presence of S. frugiperda in maize fields was reported in 2019. The aim of this study was to record the parasitoids of S. frugiperda in Egypt. The survey was conducted at Sohag and Qena governorates. Survey studies showed five parasitoids were recorded. In Sohag governorate, from the total samples of fall armyworm collected, four species of parasitoids emerged, three of them belonged to order hymenoptera and one belonged to diptera. Two of the hymenopteran parasitoids were found in samples collected from Shandaweel district, Dinarmus basalis (Rondani, 1877) family Pteromalidae and Cotesia ruficrus (Haliday) family Braconidae. While the third is Microplitis rufiventris (Kokujev) family Braconidae was emerged from samples collected fromEl-Osyrat district. However, the dipteranparasitoidis Exorista (Tachina) larvarum (Linnaeus), which emerged from samples collected from Shandaweel district. In Qena governorate, one parasitoid species emerged Chelonus intermedius (Thomson) which was found inAbu Tesht district. Up to my knowledge this is the first record of the mentioned parasitoids on S. frugiperda in Egypt.