ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Patterns of abundance in the beneficial insects associated with the fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) egg masses in selected Philippines cornfields
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Jessamyn Adorada 2, A,C-F
,
 
,
 
Xiaodan Huang 3, B-D,F
,
 
Zhenying Wang 3, B-D
 
 
 
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1
National Crop Protection Center, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Agricultural Life Sciences Complex, 4030, Los Banos, Philippines
 
2
Institute of Weed Science, Entomology and Plant Pathology, University of the Philippines Los Baños, LB Uichanco Hall, 4031, Los Banos, Philippines
 
3
Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Haidian District, 100193, Beijing, China
 
 
A - Research concept and design; B - Collection and/or assembly of data; C - Data analysis and interpretation; D - Writing the article; E - Critical revision of the article; F - Final approval of article
 
 
Submission date: 2025-06-23
 
 
Acceptance date: 2025-10-16
 
 
Online publication date: 2025-11-13
 
 
Corresponding author
Marie Beltran Beltran   

National Crop Protection Center, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Agricultural Life Sciences Complex, 4030, Los Banos, Philippines
 
 
 
HIGHLIGHTS
  • Field-collected FAW egg masses are naturally parasitized by egg parasitoids
  • Telenomus remus is the most abundant egg parasitoid of FAW egg masses
  • Euborellia annulata also occurs in cornfields but with low patterns of abundance
  • Telenomus remus and Euborellia annulata are two potential biocontrol agents of FAW
  • We recommend future studies in the context of developing CoBC tactics against FAW
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ABSTRACT
In February 2022, preliminary field surveys were conducted to characterize patterns of abundance in the beneficial insect populations associated with fall armyworm (FAW) egg masses in selected Philippines corn fields. It was found that approximately 47.64% of the field-collected FAW egg masses were naturally parasitized by hymenopteran egg parasitoids. The most abundant, and possibly a habitual egg parasitoid of FAW, was Telenomus remus Nixon. The other egg parasitoids, Te. nawai Ashmead and Trichogramma chilonis, were likely only incidental parasitoids. This was based on the data gathered for population density, daily emergence patterns, local occurrence, and parasitism rates of these parasitoids. On the other hand, the remaining 52.36% of these egg masses successfully hatched and survived into the first instars. Further, the generalist predator Euborellia annulata was collected from soil samples in corn fields but with low patterns of abundance, and a possible explanation for this observation is provided. Overall, Te. remus and E. annulata are potential biocontrol agents and can be further evaluated for their ability to cause significant mortality on the first-generation FAW egg masses and the 2nd instars in corn plants. Future studies are recommended to establish their host and prey relationships in local corn agricultural landscapes. They are discussed in the context of developing conservation biocontrol (CoBC) tactics for preventing the establishment of FAW populations early in the cropping season.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors have declared that no conflict of interests exist.
eISSN:1899-007X
ISSN:1427-4345
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