Insect fauna associated with Anacardium occidentale (Sapindales: Anacardiaceae) in the South Sudanese area of Burkina Faso, West Africa

Field surveys were conducted from January to December 2019 to collect and identify the insect fauna of cashew in the South Sudanese area. A total of 79 insect species were inventoried in cashew orchards. These insect species belonged to 41 families distributed in 11 orders (Diptera, Hemiptera, Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, Homoptera, Lepidoptera, Isoptera, Tysanoptera, Orthoptera, Neuroptera and Mantoptera). The order Diptera was the most represented, with 27 species. The identified insect species included pollinators, predators, parasitoids and pests. Twenty-one of the species are considered insect pests of the cashew trees because of the damage they cause to different parts of the trees. Some of these species are economically important insect pests of cashew trees in West Africa, including wood borers (Apate terebrans, Plocederus sp.), aphids (Aphis gossypii, Aphis crassivora), mealybugs (Ferrisia virgata), bugs (Myrperus jaculus, Nezara viridula, Anoplocnemis curvipes), thrips (Selenothrips sp.), fruit flies and termites. Most insect pests showed significant predominance during the flowering-fruiting stage of the cashew trees. The results of this study provide an important database for developing an agroecological management strategy for cashew pests in Burkina Faso.