Biological Control of Aphids in Spain’s Urban Green Spaces

Belén Lumbierres, Roberto Meseguer, Alexandre Levi-Mourao and Xavier Pons ()
Additional contact information
Belén Lumbierres: Department of Agricultural and Forest Sciences and Engineering, Agrotecnio Center, Universitat de Lleida, 25198 Lleida, Spain
Roberto Meseguer: Department of Agricultural and Forest Sciences and Engineering, Agrotecnio Center, Universitat de Lleida, 25198 Lleida, Spain
Alexandre Levi-Mourao: Department of Agricultural and Forest Sciences and Engineering, Agrotecnio Center, Universitat de Lleida, 25198 Lleida, Spain
Xavier Pons: Department of Agricultural and Forest Sciences and Engineering, Agrotecnio Center, Universitat de Lleida, 25198 Lleida, Spain

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 24, 1-17

Abstract: Green spaces in urban areas, such as parks and gardens, provide recreational, social, and health benefits for more than half of the world’s inhabitants. Arthropods in urban vegetation may cause some disruption to humans but also provide vital ecological services such as biological control and pollination. However, little is known about the ecology of urban pests, their natural enemies, and how to manage them in an ecofriendly manner, especially in Southern Europe. In this review article, we consider the information available concerning the biological control of aphids in the urban green areas of Spain, mainly focusing on the different aphid species, their natural enemies (and how to enhance them), and the sampling methods used to study them. A wide range of aphid species is found in Spain, but only a few are responsible for the majority of damage (so-called k-aphids, most of which are holocyclic species), and these show two distinct injury profiles (short and long) that determine monitoring and control strategies. Urban aphids have numerous natural enemies, including more than 20 species of ladybeetles, as well as predatory hoverflies, midges, lacewings, bugs, and other groups. More than 40 species of aphid parasitoids and their tritrophic aphid plant associations have been reported. The availability and usefulness of commercially reared aphid natural enemies is discussed, and two methods to enhance natural enemies are described. We also review aphid sampling methods developed for urban green spaces. The studies provide basic information on the ecology of aphids to support conservation biological control as a reliable strategy in the urban green areas of Spain.

Keywords: conservation biological control; aphid natural enemy associations; predators; parasitoids; sampling; service plants; coccinellids; invasive species (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/24/11225/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/24/11225/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:24:p:11225-:d:1549192

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().