PREVALENCE AND ABUNDANCE OF CHARLETONIA SP. (ACARI: ERYTHRAEIDAE) IN ZONOCERUS VARIEGATUS (LINNAEUS, 1958) (ORTHOPTERA: PYRGOMORPHIDAE) POPULATION IN THE HUMID FOREST ZONE OF SOUTHERN CAMEROON

J. L. Tamesse, S. Kekeunou1, C. Prombo

Abstract: Zonocerus variegatus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Orthoptera: Pyrgomorphidae) is an agricultural pest in Africa. Insecticide used against this grasshopper is harmful to the environment, and the search for an acceptable control method is a necessity. Weekly captures, observation and counts carried out from January to December 2011, enabled us to study the parasitism of Z. variegatus by Charletonia sp. Prevalence of Charletonia sp. in Z. variegatus populations was 30.74 ± 0.02%. While post embryonic stages and seasons affected Charletonia sp. prevalence, population and sex types showed no effect. The abundance of Charletonia sp. was 1.63 ± 0.19 per individual of Z. variegatus. Charletonia sp. was present in all the tagma of Z. variegatus. The parasite was more abundant on the thorax than the head and the abdomen. Charletonia sp. was present in the natural area throughout the year and we observed a low correlation between Z. variegatus and Charletonia sp. and between rainfall and Charletonia sp. abundance. To better understand the relationship between Z. variegatus and Charletonia sp., we will combine in future investigations, field samples with laboratory observations on the development of hosts and parasites.

Keywords: ariegated grasshopper; Charletonia; parasitism; Yaounde

Date published: 2017-09-15