Enemigos naturales del Picudo del Agave  Scyphophorus acupunctatus Gyllenhal (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) en el Estado Falcón, Venezuela

Resumen

With the purpose of detecting the presence of natural enemies of the Agave weevil (Scyphophorus acupunctatus Gyllenhal), the areas with highest abundance of Agave cocui in the municipalities Sucre, Miranda, Colina and Bolívar of the state of Falcon. They were carried out field collections, laboratory breedings and tests of acceptance of the prey to the predators, and pathogenicity for the entomopathogens. From the collected material (eggs, larvas, pupae and adults) only the parasitoid Cyclaulacidea sp. (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) emerged from pupae. With respect to predators, it was determined that adults of Hololepta quadridentata and Phileurus valgus valgus (Coleoptera) as well as the ants Odontomachus bauri and Ectatomma ruidum constitute important predators of the larvae of S. acupunctatus. The parasitoid, was detected in the municipalities Miranda and Sucre, while the coleopterans and the ants were in almost all sampled areas. It was also detected to the nematode Heterorhabditis sp. was found parasitizing adult the S. acupunctatus in the municipality Miranda, and two isolates of the fungi Beauveria bassiana infecting adults of S. acupunctatus in the municipalities Miranda and Bolívar. These natural enemies of S. acupunctatus are here for the first time reported for the country.