Among the insects that attack soybeans, brown stink bug Euschistus heros (Fabricius) is considered a major pest. The aim of this research was to evaluate the occurrence of parasitism in adults of brown stink bugs E. heros during soybean crop season and to identify diapause sites during the period of soybean absence in the great region of Dourados, MS. Adults of brown stick bugs were collected weekly in soybean crops during the 2004/05 and 2005/06 growing seasons. In the off-season soybean in 2005 and 2006 inspections were conducted in different environments to find possible sites of bugs' diapause , and to evaluate the occurrence of parasitism in these environments. For each sampling date, 40 adults were put inside one gerbox, fed with Ligustrum lucidum Ait. (Oleraceae), and observed for a period of 40 days. Parasitoids were kept in alcohol 70% and send to identification. The natural incidence of parasitism of adults collected in the period with and without soybean crops varied from 0.0% and 5.0%, and considering different samples, Hexacladia smithii Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) was the only one parasitoid found. During the period of soybean absence was observe the highest incidence of E. heros on dry fallen leaves of Mangifera indica L., showing that this environment is an important diapause sites for this pest in this region.
Hexacladia smithiiz; natural incidence; parasitoid; soybean
