Sunflower is an important oilseed crop worldwide. Cultivated sunflower is derived from the common annual sunflower, Helianthus annuus L., a species native to North America and one of 49 described species of Helianthus. Numerous insect species are associated with sunflower, but few are serious pests. Many potential pest species are held in check by natural enemies that coevolved with them in native sunflowers. Insect species of major concern to cultivated sunflower in the Great Plains are the banded sunflower moth. Cochylis hospes Walsingham; the sunflower beetle, Zygogramma exclamationis (F.); the sunflower stem weevil, Cylindrocopturus adspersus (LeConte); the sunflower midge, Contarinia schulzi Gagné; the red sunflower seed weevil, Smicronyx fulvus LeConte; and the sunflower moth. Homoeosoma electellum (Hulst). Natural enemies have been reported for these pests, but their efficacy in providing control in many years is inadequate to maintain populations below economic injury levels. Further work is needed to explore the parasitoid fauna in the sunflower agroecosystem and in different native sunflower species, and to develop methods to conserve existing parasitoids, augment species present, or introduce additional natural enemies to reduce economic losses in the sunflower crop.
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Biological Control of Sunflower Pests: Searching for Parasitoids in Native Helianthus—Challenges, Constraints, and Potential
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