Insects Associated with Soursop (<i>Annona muricata</i>L.) in Veracruz, Mexico

Abstract

Soursop, Annona muricata L., is an economically important tropical crop in America, Asia, and Australia for its fresh pulp and processed products, and is attacked by insects from a variety of families. As many as 199 insects infest fruits of the family Annonaceae. Annona muricata fruits, leaves, and flowers were collected at 11 locations in central Veracruz, Mexico, producing new records for the region, including a fruit borer (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), Stenoma spp., (Lepidoptera: Oecophoridae), Neosilba spp. (Diptera: Lonchaeidae) in fruits: Acantocephala femorata Fab. (Hemiptera: Coreidae), Euphoria leucographa (Coleoptera: Melolonthidae), Collembola, Aphis gossypii (Hemiptera: Aphididae) in flowers, as well as parasitoids and predators. Of the 15 insects associated with soursop, seven are new records for Mexico and some have the potential to become pests. The two main pests at all locations were Bephratelloides cubensis and Cerconota anonella.