THE NUMBER AND ABUNDANCE OF ICHNEUMONIDAE (HYMENOPTERA, APOCRITA) SUBFAMILIES OCCURRING IN APPLE ORCHARDS AND ON THEIR EDGES

Abstract

Plant communities which form orchard edges are a vital element of ecological infrastructure enriching these agrocenoses. The research was conducted in an orchard environment made up of apple orchards and their edges in the form of agricultural cultivations, tree clumps and a road lined with trees and shrubberies. The study aim was to determine the impact of the orchard edge plant diversity onto the number and abundance of Ichneumonidae subfamilies in the orchards. The study showed that orchard environments made up of an apple orchard and edge plants of various species create better living conditions for Ichneumonidae parasitoids than the environment of an orchard and neighbouring agricultural cultivations. The diversity of orchard edge plants positively influences the abundance of the Ichneumonidae subfamilies rather than the number of subfamilies in the orchard. In the orchard habitat the following dominant subfamilies were found: Campopleginae, Cryptinae, Orthocentrinae and Pimplinae. These entomophages may control the abundance of pests infesting orchards.