ABSTRACT
The corn white grub, Liogenys suturalis, attacks corn, wheat and oat crops in Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil. This pest damages roots of plants, thereby reducing the plants’ capacity to take up water and nutrients, and hence lowering their potential yield. A great number of organisms can act as natural enemies of below-ground insects or the ones that spend only part of their life cycle below ground. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the occurrence of parasitism on L. suturalis larvae collected in three counties of the Southern region of Mato Grosso do Sul State. The occurrence of parasitoids of the Ptilodexia genus (Diptera: Tachinidae) was observed in all 3 counties. The greatest percentage of parasitism was observed in Laguna Carapã (22.5%) followed by Caarapó (15.9%) and Ponta Porã (0.8%).
KEY WORDS
Insecta; white grub; biological control; parasitoid
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