Abstract

MATIENZO BRITO, Yaril; VEITIA RUBIO, Marlene M  and  ALAYON GARCIA, Giraldo. Composition and Richness of Insects and Spiders Associated to Flowering Plants in Urban Agricultural Systems. Fitosanidad [online]. 2011, vol.15, n.1, pp.25-30. ISSN 1562-3009.

The knowledge of arthropod fauna associated with flowers of plants in agricultural systems is a basic element for natural enemies species of phytophagous insects conservation. Species that most frequently visit flowers of different plant species in urban agricultural systems were determined in this study. Simple random sampling was done weekly in different production systems of Havana province during the period 2007-2009. Insects and spiders were collected, classified and identified using taxonomic keys and comparison with biological collections. Functional groups with higher species richness associated with the flowers were Coleoptera > Araneae > Hymenoptera. In this way Cycloneda sanguinea limbifer Casey and Apis mellifera L. were arthropods that visited a greater number of flowering plant species. Plant species that presented greater taxonomic richness of arthropods were Zea mays L. (12), Tagetes spp. (10), Morinda citrifolia L. (7) and Helianthus annuus L. (6).

Keywords : blooming; biological control; Insecta; Araneae; plant protection; urban agriculture.

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