Liometopum apiculatum (Formicidae: Dolichoderinae) y su relación trofobiotica con Hemiptera sternorrhyncha en Tlaxco, Tlaxacala, México

Abstract

The trophobiotic relationships of Liometopum apiculatum Mayr, an edible insect of local economical importance, with Hemiptera Sternorryncha at the Tlaxcala state were studied. Fourteen species were found associated with L. apiculatum, among which seven were aphids, two in the Cinara genus, Anoecia cornicola (Walsh), Aphis lugentis Williams, Aphis solitaria (McVicar Baker), Aphis helianthi Monell in Riley & Monell, y Aphis sp. followed by three species of scales of Saissetia genus, S. olee (Olivier) among them, two Pseudoccocidae species with Dysmicoccus brevipes (Cockerell) as one of them; Ortheziidae with one species and Dactylopiidae with: Eriococcus sp.

Only seven species occurred through all the year, Cinara genus with two species and A. cornicola, D. brevipes, S. oleae, S. sp. and Eriococcus sp., the other varied seasonally in relation to their host-plant. The higher number of ant-hemiptera associations was ten and occurred in august. The relative Cinara spp. abundance was more stable during the year than that of D. brevipes and S. oleae. This is the first record of association of the aphid species found with ants in México and specially, the association Pinus rudis-Cinara sp. 1- L. apiculatum and Juniperus deppeana-Cinara sp.2-Liometompum apiculatum, are new host-plant records constituted by American native species of aphids and plants in a relative fragile ecological area which could be a model for conservation by their biological and economical importance.