Insect identification and diversity associated to marango (Moringa oleífera L.) in Nicaragua

Abstract

Moringa (Moringa oleifera L.) is a tree from the family Moringácea growing frequently in the tropics. It is considered a major crop in Central America. In Nicaragua in recent years the interest has grown in this crop due to its nutritional potential in feeding cattle, pigs and poultry. However, moringa as any other crop has been affected by many problems, including some insect pest causing drastic reductions in the total returns of this crop. With the aim of contributing to new generation of information for the management of these insect pests, this study was conducted to identify all insect associated to moringa, in addition, to study the insect population fluctuation, calculate richness and abundance, as well as insect behavior. This work was conducted in the period from May to December 2013 in Managua, on two farms Las Mercedes and CNIA-INTA. In both farms it was placed traps to catch insects, these traps were Pit fall traps and Plastic one gallon container with water and molasses. The total number of traps placed per farm was 24. Samples were taken weekly and insects collected in the field were taken to the laboratory for identification respectively. According to the results obtained in the study, the main insect orders found associated to moringa were, Orthóptera, Dermaptera, Hemíptera, Coleóptera, Diptera, Lepidóptera, Hymenóptera, Blattodea, Isoptera, Magaloptera, Neuroptera y Odonata. The greater insect richness and abundance were found on the farm CNIA-INTA, it was also noted that the family Formicidae and Lonchaeidae were most frequently on both farms.