Aphids are a serious pest for peach crops. They have traditionally been managed with insecticides, but there is increasing concern about the risk that insecticides pose to both humans and the environment. As a first step to use biological control in aphid management, we conducted a 3-year field survey in northeastern Spain to determine which parasitoids and hyperparasitoids were most prevalent on two aphids, Myzus persicae (Sulzer) and Hyalopterus spp. Koch, the most harmful to peach trees. We collected 11 parasitoid species from M. persicae, with Aphidius matricariae (Haliday) being the most abundant. Two parasitoid species were also collected from Hyalopterus spp., Aphidius transcaspicus Telenga and Praon volucre (Haliday). Hyperparasitoid species overlapped between these aphids but their relative abundances differed. We also discuss the possible impacts of hyperparasitoids on parasitoid populations. Our results suggest that it would be feasible to implement biocontrol methods for aphids in integrated pest management programmes in peach orchards. There are a number of primary parasitoid species associated with these aphids, and the nearby crops and wild vegetation in the vicinity and within the orchards may provide a suitable habitat for them. Additionally, some of them are commercially available and might be usable in augmentative releases.

Departament de Biologia Animal Facultat de Biologia Universitat de Barcelona Avda Diagonal 645 08028 Barcelona Spain

Departament de Zoologia Facultat de Ciències Biològiques Universitat de València Campus de Burjassot Paterna Dr Moliner 50 46100 Burjassot Spain

Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries Ctra de Cabrils Km 2 08348 Cabrils Barcelona Spain

Institute of Zoology Faculty of Biology University of Belgrade Studentski trg 16 11000 Belgrade Serbia

Laboratory of Aphidology Institute of Entomology Biology Centre AVCR Branisovska 31 37005 České Budějovice Czech Republic

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