ABSTRACT

Citrus trees are host to several insects some of which are pests while others are natural enemies. The composition and diversity of insects associated with a common pest of citrus, Toxoptera citricida aphids were surveyed to ascertain the taxon/taxa that is most abundant and associated with aphids with the aim of evaluating the ecological role especially in terms of aphid management. Using sweep net and aspirators, insects associated with aphid-infested shoots were collected. Twenty samples of insects associated with aphid-infested shoots were collected from a tangerine orchard in using a strategised random sampling. Data obtained were analysed using PAST^TM and composition of species and abundance were tabularized for summary. Species rarefaction curve was used to visualize the proportion of the true species richness that was collected and it showed that the number of taxa collected at the end of sampling did not reach its asymptote with about 71%. Three non-parametric estimators were used to compute the inventory completeness. Results showed that twenty-two morphospecies of insects were found in infested shoots with Coccinellid beetles as the most abundant. The implication of the findings thereof, is that in any attempt to manage aphids on citrus, the Coccinellid beetles may be the most affected fauna, if non-target specific chemicals are used against aphids and that some other species may be encountered in subsequent studies. Future studies should therefore evaluate the predatory efficiency of the beetles so as to quantify their ecological services in managing aphids.