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Penalver-Cruz, AAuthor

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March 17, 2023
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Aphid honeydew may be the predominant sugar source for Aphidius parasitoids even in nectar-providing intercrops

Publicated to: Biological Control. 158 104596- - 2021-07-01 158(), DOI: 10.1016/j.biocontrol.2021.104596

Authors:

Luquet, Martin; Penalver-Cruz, Ainara; Satour, Pascale; Anton, Sylvia; Cortesero, Anne-Marie; Lavandero, Blas; Jaloux, Bruno
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Affiliations

Univ Angers, Inst Agro, INRAE, IRHS,SFR 4207 QUASAV, F-49071 Beaucouze, France - Author
Univ Rennes, Inst Agro, INRAE, IGEPP, F-35000 Rennes, France - Author
Univ Rennes, Inst Agro, INRAE, IGEPP, F-49045 Angers, France - Author
Univ Talca, Inst Ciencias Biol, Lab Control Biol, Talca, Chile - Author
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Abstract

The nectar provision hypothesis predicts that the introduction of nectar-producing plants in agroecosystems benefits parasitoid populations in the field and enhances biological control. Intercropping is a common crop diversification scheme that may bring complementary nectar sources for parasitoids and increase herbivore pest control. For instance, intercropping cereals with faba beans introduces nectar sources in usually sugar-devoid systems (i.e. cereal single crops). However, the nectar provision hypothesis has never been evaluated at the field scale in such intercropping systems. To test this hypothesis, we evaluated if sugar is a limiting factor for Aphidius parasitoids in single triticale crops and if their nectar feeding activity increases in faba bean-triticale intercrops. Aphidius feeding patterns were evaluated from their sugar profiles, using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). In parallel, aphid density and parasitism rates were estimated at the edge and in the centre of single crops and intercrops. Sugar analyses revealed that honeydew was always the main sugar source for parasitoids, and although a significant proportion of parasitoid populations were recorded to feed on nectar, this proportion did not increase in intercrops. Besides, parasitism rates did not increase in intercrops, nor were aphid populations reduced. Thus, our results do not support the nectar provision hypothesis, but rather suggest that although nectar provision benefits parasitoid populations in some systems, its effects on biological control are highly context-dependent. They also confirm that honeydew can be a major food source for parasitoids, which may not necessarily be sugar limited at the field scale.
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Keywords

AvailabilityBiological controlBiological-controlCrop diversificationExtrafloral nectarField marginsFloral resourcesFlower attractivenessFood sourceLongevityNatural enemiesNectar provision hypothesisNutritional ecologyNutritional statePlants

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Biological Control due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2021, it was in position 13/100, thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Entomology.

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from World Citations provided by WoS (ESI, Clarivate), it yields a value for the citation normalization relative to the expected citation rate of: 1.34. This indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: ESI Nov 13, 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2026-04-04, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 22
  • Google Scholar: 25
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Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2026-04-04:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 47.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 47 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 2.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 4 (Altmetric).
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Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: Chile; France.

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Awards linked to the item

This work was supported by the PROGRAILIVE project supported by the European Union and the Regional council of Britany (grant RBRE160116CR0530019).
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