Taxonomic and functional structure of phytophagous insect communities associated with grain Amaranth

Abstract

Amaranthus are worldwide attacked mainly by leaf chewers and sucker insects. Stem borers and leaf miners follow in importance, while minor herbivores are leaf rollers, folders and rasping-sucking insects. The herbivorous community observed on Amaranthus spp. in Argentina was consistent with the information reported worldwide both in guilds composition and order proportion. Amaranth plants had a higher number of phytophagous species in their native rather than in its introduced range. Occurrence of insect guilds differed in space and time. The highest density of leaf chewers was observed shortly after the emergency of plants while higher density of borer and sucker insects coincided with reproductive stages of the crop. The sucking guild was observed mainly at panicles, while the insects within the leaf chewer group were registered in both, leaves (92.6%, n = 746 adults) and inflorescences (7.4%). The borer guild was also recorded in stems and inflorescences; however, the density of larvae in stems was about four times as high as the density observed in panicles (n = 137 larvae).