DUE TO THE POTENTIAL THAT L. ZONATUS HAS TO BECOME A KEY PEST IN THE CULTIVATION OF RED PITAHAYA (H. UNDATUS) IN ECUADOR, AS IT IS IN SEVERAL AGRICULTURAL CROPS IN AMERICA, AND BECAUSE IN THIS COUNTRY THERE ARE NO STUDIES ON THE POPULATION FLUCTUATION OF THE INSECT AND ITS NATURAL ENEMIES DEPENDING ON TEMPERATURE AND RELATIVE HUMIDITY, THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS WORK WAS TO DETERMINE THE POPULATION DYNAMICS OF THE PATÓN BUG (LEPTOGLOSSUS ZONATUS) IN THE CULTIVATION OF RED PITAHAYA (HYLOCEREUS UNDATUS) IN TWO DIFFERENT AGROECOLOGICAL ZONES, AND TO YOUR MAY THIS RESEARCH SERVE AS A BASIS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH.