Principales enemigos naturales de Dione juno (Cramer, 1779) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) en el cultivo de maracuya

Passion fruit cultivation Passiflora edulis is highly demanded in the national and international market. Its consumption both in nature or in juice sum for the industry grows annually. Currently, Ecuador registers close to 10 thousand planted hectares, the main producing areas being the coastal region. As passion fruit cultivation increases, it becomes susceptible to attack by countless pest insects, including Dione juno, which is the most important defoliator registered in our country for passion fruit. This document aims to describe the damage and determine the main natural enemies of the passion fruit defoliator worm D. juno. The damage caused by D. juno when consuming the leaves of the passion fruit crop reduces the photosynthetic rate and is considered a pest of economic importance. The egg, larva and pupa stages register attack by natural enemies except the adult stage. Groups of natural enemies such as predators, entomopathogens, and parasitoids attack D. junno, the latter group being the most important natural enemy group recorded for D. juno. Among them, the potter wasps of the Vespide family, is the most important family as a natural enemy of D. juno since it registers more than 52% of predation of all the insects found. Finally, it is recommended that the producers of the passion fruit crop should protect the wasps since these are an ally to the producer and to the integrated pest management against D. juno, the passion fruit defoliator.

Passion fruit cultivation Passiflora edulis is highly demanded in the national and international market. Its consumption both in nature or in juice sum for the industry grows annually. Currently, Ecuador registers close to 10 thousand planted hectares, the main producing areas being the coastal region. As passion fruit cultivation increases, it becomes susceptible to attack by countless pest insects, including Dione juno, which is the most important defoliator registered in our country for passion fruit. This document aims to describe the damage and determine the main natural enemies of the passion fruit defoliator worm D. juno. The damage caused by D. juno when consuming the leaves of the passion fruit crop reduces the photosynthetic rate and is considered a pest of economic importance. The egg, larva and pupa stages register attack by natural enemies except the adult stage. Groups of natural enemies such as predators, entomopathogens, and parasitoids attack D. junno, the latter group being the most important natural enemy group recorded for D. juno. Among them, the potter wasps of the Vespide family, is the most important family as a natural enemy of D. juno since it registers more than 52% of predation of all the insects found. Finally, it is recommended that the producers of the passion fruit crop should protect the wasps since these are an ally to the producer and to the integrated pest management against D. juno, the passion fruit defoliator.

El cultivo de maracuyá Passiflora edulis es altamente demandado en el mercado nacional e internacional. Su consumido tanto en natural o en sumo de jugos para la industria crece anualmente. Actualmente, el Ecuador registra cerca de las 10 mil hectáreas plantadas siendo las principales zonas productoras la región costa. Al incrementarse el cultivo de maracuyá, se torna susceptible al ataque de un sinnúmeros de insectos plagas, entre esos, Dione juno, que es el defoliador más importante registrado en nuestro país para la maracuyá. Este documento, tiene como objetivo el describir los daños y determinar los principales enemigos naturales del gusano defoliador de la maracuyá D. juno. El daño causado por D. juno al consumir las hojas del cultivo de maracuyá reduce la tasa fotosintética y es considerado una plaga de importancia económica. Los estados de huevo, larva y pupa registran ataque de enemigos naturales excepto el estado adulto. Los grupos de enemigos naturales como depredadores, entomopatógenos y parasitoides, atacan a D. junno, siendo este último grupo el más importante de enemigo natural registrado para D. juno. Dentro de ellos, las avispas alfareras de la familia Vespide, es la familia de mayor importancia como enemigo natural de D. juno ya que registra más del 52% de depredación de todos los insectos encontrados. Finalmente, se recomienda que los productores del cultivo de maracuyá deben proteger a las avispas ya que estas son una aliada al productor y al manejo integrado de plagas en contra de D. juno el defoliador de la maracuyá.