Phytophagous and natural enemies associated with aromatic plants in glasshouse

In this paper, we show the results from the entomological sampling carried out on four aromatic plants (Calendula officinalis, Centaurea cyanus, Mentha viridis et Lippia citrodora) grown in glasshouse. Thirty six phytophagous species were obtained (21 on mint, 12 on centaurea, 10 on lemon verbena and 8 on marigold). The highest number of phytophagous species was found on mint, which was also the richest for the parasitoid fauna. The species Pyrausta aurata (Pyralidae) produced important damages, and both Choreas dorsalis (Spinola, 1808) (Braconidae) and Cotesia kurdjumovi (Telenga, 1955) (Braconidae) were the most predominant parasitoids. Centaurea was specially affected by aphid pests, belonging to the genus Uroleucon and Brachycaudus. Praon volucre (Haliday, 1833) (Braconidae) parasitized Uroleucon jaceae (Linnaeus, 1758) and Lysyphlebus testaceipes (Cresson, 1880) (Braconidae) parasitized Brachycaudus helichrysi (Kaltenbach, 1843) (Aphididae). Other predators included several species of Coccinellidae, Reduviidae and Syrphidae.