Research investigates parasitoid insects as allies in natural pest control in the Amazon
A study by the Ecology Department of the São Carlos Campus of the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar) is studying the diversity of parasitoid wasps in the interior of the state of Amazonas - a region of extreme ecological importance and still little explored by scientists. The study will also relate the action of these wasps in the natural biological control of pests in the crops of small cassava producers in the region.
"Although many parasitoid insects act as natural biological control agents for agricultural pests, information about these species is still scarce, especially in relation to cassava, which is the most important crop for subsistence in the northern region of Brazil. The Amazon is one of the biomes where information about parasitoid wasps is most limited. This knowledge gap extends to both vertical and horizontal dimensions, leaving a large part of the region unexplored and unknown," reports Gabriela do Nascimento Herrera, a doctoral student in the Postgraduate Program in Ecology and Natural Resources (PPGERN) at UFSCar and researcher responsible for the study.
Insects studied
The objective of the study, according to Gabriela Herrera, is to contribute to the knowledge of the diversity of Ichneumonoidea, a group of parasitoid wasps, which are insects belonging to the order Hymenoptera, which includes bees, wasps and ants. They are characterized by having "two pairs of membranous wings, complete metamorphosis (egg, larva, pupa and adult), modified apex of the abdomen, often forming an ovipositor or stinger, well-developed antennae, generally with several segments and varied body size and shape, with great ecological and behavioral diversity". This order of insects, according to the scientist, includes solitary and social species, with important roles mainly in pollination and biological control.
In the research, the doctoral student will work specifically with the group of wasps, from the superfamily Ichneumonoidea, the largest superfamily of the order Hymenoptera and which has large associations with pests of various agricultural crops, playing an important role in natural biological control.
Amazon biome
The focus of the study is to investigate the action of these wasps in the Amazon biome, comparing their diversity, richness and abundance in the different strata of soil, understory and forest (vertical stratification) at different times of the year. "I chose to look for them in the Amazon due to the lack of knowledge in this biome and also because of my origins there. In addition, Professor Angélica [Maria Penteado-Dias] is a great reference in this area of research, leading a research group (INCT Hympar - National Institute of Science and Technology of the Amazon) Hymenoptera Parasitoids ), already consolidated with several studies in other Brazilian biomes", says the doctoral student.
According to her, the Western Amazon region as a whole, especially the interior of Amazonas, is a little explored area. "There is not much research in the region, often due to difficult access, as there are isolated places that many people may even consider dangerous," she says. "I believe that this area is important from an ecological point of view because it is a preserved area and much of its fauna and flora still remains unknown."
Forest x crop
The study will also outline the differences in the occurrence of wasps in native forests and in crops, indicating possible species for biological control in cassava crops.
According to the researcher, "the vast majority of producers in the region are small producers and there are still many conservative production habits, without much machinery available and without much use of agricultural pesticides, which helps even more to maintain some of the region's original characteristics."
Potential for preservation
Another advance in the research will be the collection of information about the local hymenoptera fauna, enabling the description of many new species for Science. "Knowing the species is essential to help preserve them. Scientists believe that many species become extinct before they are even described. This is what we don't want to happen," says Gabriela Herrera.
"I have always been very interested in researching the Amazon and trying to bring and publish new discoveries or bring new information to more people, because the Amazon has always been a part of me. I was born in the interior of Acre and grew up in the interior of Amazonas, always in contact with nature and cassava crops. Cassava cultivation is, in fact, the most important for the people of the North region, both as a subsidy and historically speaking. And while developing my master's research, I was able to realize how there is a lack of data on Hymenoptera Parasitoids for the entire Amazon region and how important this is for ecological balance."
Fieldwork and analysis
To develop the work, monthly collections will be carried out in an area of native forest and cassava crops, in the municipality of Guajará, in the state of Amazonas, from May 2025 to February 2026. For this, the researcher has the assistance of Francisco Damião dos Santos Souza, who acts as a field guide and was responsible for helping to set up the traps, distributed in different strata of the forest.
The traps used, called Malaise Traps, are tent-shaped and have fine netting, and are used to capture flying insects, especially flies and wasps, in different environments (native forests, crops and borders) and at different heights (0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 meters) to check both the diversity and the functional roles of the individuals collected. "I went to the field to install the traps on April 27th and will now go back a few more times for the other stages of the project. But there is a team there responsible for collecting the material from the traps already installed and sending it to the laboratories at UFSCar, São Carlos, so that this material can be properly sorted and identified", explains the PPGERN doctoral student.
The study
The study, titled " Vertical stratification and diversity of parasitoid hymenoptera (Ichneumonoidea) in native forest and cropland environments in western Amazonia, Amazonas, Brazil ", is supervised by Professor Angélica Maria Penteado-Dias, from the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (DEBE), and co-supervised by researcher Eduardo Mitio Shimbori, from the Center for International Cooperation in Agricultural Research for Development (Cirad), in France.
The research began on April 27 of this year and is expected to be completed in May 2026, and has financial support from the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) and the São Paulo State Research Support Foundation (FAPESP), in addition to a scholarship granted by the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (Capes).