PAID ACCESS | Published on : 03-Feb-2026 | Pages: 1-11 | Doi : 10.37446/edibook212025/1-11
Wheat is the most prominent grain globally. Insect pests can inflict significant harm during the crucial growth stages of heading and flowering. Pink stem borer, Sesamia inferens (Walker); aphid, Rhopalosiphum padi Linnaeus, Schizaphis graminum Rondani, R. maidis and Macrosiphum miscanthi (Tak.); shoot fly, Atherigona soccata (Rondani); hessian fly, Mayetiola destructor (Say); army worm, Mythimna separata (Walker) and termite, Odontotermes obesus (Rambur) are the insect pests of wheat. The population of pests in wheat ecosystems is considerably influenced by the presence and efficiency of their natural enemies like predators viz., Coccinelids, Coccinella septempunctata (L.), Menochilus sexmaculatus (F.), Hippodamia variegata (Goeze), Episyrphus balteatus (De geer), H. convergens, Cydonia vicina nilotica Mul., Cydonia vicina isis Cr., Scymnus sp.; Rhyzobius litura Fab., spiders; Oxypes spp., Lycosa pseudoannulata; marmalade hoverflies, Episyrphus balteatus De Geer; rove beetle, Paederus fuscipes, Paederus alfierii; Syrphid fly, Metasyrphus corolla (Fab.); Minute pirate bugs, Orius sp.; earwig Euborellia stali (Dohrn); Chrysoperla carnea (Steph.), and parasitoids viz., Aphelinus abdominalis Dalman and Aphidius avenae Haliday, Trichogrammaa sp., Lysiphlebus testaceipes; Cotesia spp.; tachnid fly, Sturmiopsis inferens, Neotrichoporoides sp.; N. nyemitawus, Theocolax elegans Westwood and Platygaster hiemalis Forbes. Adoption of different cropping system, ecological engineering can improve biological control.
Wheat, Insect pests, Natural enemies, Parasitoids, Predators, Ecological regulation
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