Cristiano Feldens Schwertner

Stink Bugs (Pentatomidae)

The Pentatomidae, representing the fourth largest family within Heteroptera, are one of the most diverse groups with about 800 genera and more than 4,700 species in the world. In the Neotropics, about 230 genera and 1,400 species are included in seven subfamilies of the world’s nine subfamilies; four subfamilies are exclusively of the Neotropics. In this chapter, for each subfamily, a diagnosis, an overview of the classification, and information on life history, ecology, and economic importance are given. Comprehensive keys and diagnosis to the subfamilies, tribes, and genera for the Neotropical Region, including Mexico, Central and South America, and the West Indies, are also given.

O gênero Chinavia Orian (Hemiptera, Pentatomidae, Pentatominae) no Brasil, com chave pictórica para os adultos

Chinavia Orian is one of the most speciose Pentatominae genera and is distributed in the Afrotropical, Nearctic and Neotropical regions. In Brazil, 32 species are recordered, from which 18 are endemic; host-plant association from 18 species are known, and immatures or some life history traits for six species were already described. In this work, we provided a diagnosis and discuss data available on immatures and biology of all species of Chinavia found in Brazil, including a pictorial key to adult identification. Two new synonyms are recognized: Acrosternum (Chinavia) bellum Rolston, 1983 is a junior synonym of Chinavia nigrodorsata (Breddin, 1903), and Acrosternum (Chinavia) panizzii Frey-da-Silva & Grazia, 2001 is a junior synonym of Chinavia obstinata (Stal, 1860). Chinavia nigritarsis (Stal, 1872), formerly a synonym of Chinavia gravis (Walker, 1867), is reinstated. Color habitus ilustrations of all species are provided, the majority taken from type-material. New host-plant associations and distribution data to Chinavia species in Brazil are presented.

Descrição dos Estágios Imaturos de Acrosternum (Chinavia) ubicum Rolston (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) e Efeito do Alimento no Tamanho e Coloração das Ninfas

Neste trabalho sao descritos os estagios imaturos de Acrosternum (Chinavia) ubicum Rolston e e avaliado o efeito do alimento no tamanho e coloracao, das ninfas alimentadas com frutos de Crotalaria incana L., Phaseolus vulgaris L., Glycine max (L.) Merril, Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) e Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. Os imaturos de A. ubicum sao semelhantes aos das demais especies neotropicais de Acrosternum. Os ovos apresentam coloracao ocre a castanho-parda, corio reticulado e processos micropilares clavados de coloracao branca. Do 1o ao 3o instar, as ninfas tem coloracao do corpo predominantemente escura e abdome com uma serie de manchas de coloracao creme a branca. A partir do 2o instar, apresentam manchas de coloracao vermelha a vermelho-alaranjada nas margens dorsais do pronoto e mesonoto. A partir do 4o instar, as manchas sao mais amplas, podendo tambem ocorrer nas margens das jugas, na superficie dorsal do pronoto e mesonoto e no centro das placas medianas e laterais do abdome. A coloracao vermelho-alaranjada das manchas dorsais e aparentemente especifica de A. ubicum, mas e necessario conhecer as ninfas das demais especies do genero para verificar se essa caracteristica tem valor diagnostico. O 4o e o 5o instares apresentaram formas escuras e claras, sendo que sua proporcao variou de acordo com o tipo de alimento oferecido. A partir do 3o instar, o alimento tambem influenciou praticamente todos os parâmetros morfometricos considerados, isto e, comprimento e largura do corpo, comprimento e largura do pronoto e do escutelo e comprimento das antenas; somente o comprimento do rostro permaneceu inalterado.

Trophobiosis between ants and Eurystethus microlobatus Ruckes 1966 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) a cryptic, gregarious and subsocial stinkbug

In this study we describe trophobiosis between ants and Eurystethus microlobatus (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) at a highland quartzite rocky outcrop in southern Espinhaço Range, southeastern Brazil. We found stinkbugs exclusively on the mistletoe Psittacanthus robustus (Loranthaceae). The stinkbug species is gregarious, forming dense clusters, with females guarding eggs and young nymphs. In addition, this species presents cryptic colouration and most individuals were located on roots and shoots, camouflaged within the bark. Eurystethus microlobatus produced honeydew by day and night, and four ant species attended aggregations: Camponotus rufipes, Camponotus crassus, Camponotus melanoticus and Cephalotes pusillus. Camponotus rufipes was the most frequent and aggressive, and the only species to attend the stinkbugs by day and night. This is the first documented case of trophobiosis between true bugs and ants in the New World.

Descrição de seis espécies de Chinavia (Hemiptera, Pentatomidae, Pentatominae) da América do Sul

Six new species of Chinavia Orian, 1965 are described: Chinavia vanduzeei sp. nov., from Peru (Madre Dios) and Brazil (Para); Chinavia schuhi sp. nov., from Peru (Loreto), Colombia (Bolivar) and Brazil (Amazonas); Chinavia sebastiaoi sp. nov., from Brazil (Mato Grosso do Sul), Bolivia (La Paz and Santa Cruz) and Paraguai (Carumbe); Chinavia cearensis sp. nov., Chinavia tuiucauna sp. nov., and Chinavia rufitibia sp. nov., from Brazil (Ceara, Bahia and Parana, respectively). Diagnoses to each species are given.

Diversity of Pentatomoidea (Hemiptera) in riparian forests of southern Brazil: taller forests, more bugs

Matas riparias sao partes importantes de qualquer ecossistema, especialmente aqueles com predominio de campos e savanas. No entanto, matas riparias na regiao sul do Brasil tem recebido pouca atencao. Este trabalho representa o primeiro estudo quantitativo sobre a diversidade de percevejos-do-mato (Hemiptera, Pentatomoidea) no bioma Pampa, a partir do levantamento em matas riparias na regiao do municipio de Bage, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. Os objetivos incluiram a caracterizacao taxonomica da fauna de percevejos-do-mato e a implementacao de estudo ecologico da diversidade desse grupo. Rede-de-varredura e guarda-chuva entomologico foram utilizados para amostrar arvores e arbustos em nove pontos ao longo de tres dias consecutivos, em marco de 2006. No total, 154 individuos de 32 especies de Pentatomoidea foram coletados, quase todas novos registros para a fauna local. Matas com dossel mais alto apresentaram maior abundância e riqueza de especies do que matas com dossel mais baixo. Das 32 especies coletadas, 11 foram singletons e quatro foram doubletons. Nao houve diferenca na composicao de especies nos dois tipos de ambientes amostrados. A associacao das especies mais abundantes com o bioma Pampa e discutida. Embora baseada em um inventario rapido da fauna local, os resultados encontrados adicionam informacoes biologicas importantes sobre a fauna de percevejos-do-mato do bioma Pampa, especialmente aquela associada as matas riparias.

Morphology of the immatures and biology of Chinavia longicorialis (Breddin) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae)

Chinavia longicorialis (Breddin) is recorded only in Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay on host plants of at least three different families. Adults and nymphs were reared under standard controlled conditions (24 +/- 1 degrees C; 70 +/- 10% RH; 12hL:12hD), and fed on green beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). Eggs and first instars of C. longicorialis are very similar to those of other species of Chinavia; however, the presence of orange maculae at the thoracic pleura is exclusive of first instars of C. longicorialis. Third to fifth instars have abdominal maculae divided by pseudo-sutures, a diagnostic feature of C. longicorialis nymphs. Light and dark morphs were observed for third, fourth and fifth instars. Head width measurements did not overlap between consecutive instars. The most frequent size of an egg clutch was 14; we suggest the adoption of the mode as the best and useful estimate of the egg clutch size for Pentatomidae. Average duration of the immature stages (egg to adult) was 39.4 +/- 3.20 days. The high mortality observed from second to fifth instar (82.4%) and the lack of reproduction of the second generation indicate that green beans are unsuitable to proper development and reproduction of C. longicorialis by itself.

Endemism analysis of Neotropical Pentatomidae (Hemiptera, Heteroptera)

The definition of areas of endemism is central to studies of historical biogeography, and their interrelationships are fundamental questions. Consistent hypotheses for the evolution of Pentatomidae in the Neotropical region depend on the accuracy of the units employed in the analyses, which in the case of studies of historical biogeography, may be areas of endemism. In this study, the distribution patterns of 222 species, belonging to 14 Pentatomidae (Hemiptera) genera, predominantly neotropical, were studied with the Analysis of Endemicity (NDM) to identify possible areas of endemism and to correlate them to previously delimited areas. The search by areas of endemism was carried out using grid-cell units of 2.5° and 5° latitude-longitude. The analysis based on groupings of grid-cells of 2.5° of latitude-longitude allowed the identification of 51 areas of endemism, the consensus of these areas resulted in four clusters of grid-cells. The second analysis, with grid-cells units of 5° latitude-longitude, resulted in 109 areas of endemism. The flexible consensus employed resulted in 17 areas of endemism. The analyses were sensitive to the identification of areas of endemism in different scales in the Atlantic Forest. The Amazonian region was identified as a single area in the area of consensus, and its southeastern portion shares elements with the Chacoan and Parana subregions. The distribution data of the taxa studied, with different units of analysis, did not allow the identification of individual areas of endemism for the Cerrado and Caatinga. The areas of endemism identified here should be seen as primary biogeographic hypotheses.

Checklist dos percevejos-do-mato (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pentatomoidea) do Estado de São Paulo, Brasil

Pentatomoidea knowledge in Sao Paulo state is here updated. Two hundred and two species in 92 genera belonging to Acanthosomatidae, Canopidae, Cydnidae, Pentatomidae, Phloeidae, Scutelleridae, Tessaratomidae and Thyreocoridae are registered. Forty one species were added and 13 taxonomical and nomenclatorial corrections were made comparing with the data presented in the first edition of the Biota SP in 1999. Pentatomoidea species richness of Sao Paulo state is around 25% of the species known to Brazil and around 3% of the world fauna. The increase of the studies in scarcely known families in Brazil will certainly raise these numbers. Pentatomidae was the most numerous taxon in Sao Paulo state, with 80% of the registered species.

First cases of exclusive paternal care in stink bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae)

We describe paternal care in two pentatomid bugs, Lopadusa (Lopadusa) augur Stal, 1860 and Edessa nigropunctata Berg, 1884. Field and laboratory observations showed that males remain with their eggs and early hatched nymphs, while females abandon the eggs after oviposition. Guarding males defensive behaviors towards their clutches were similar to those described for guarding females of pentatomids. Since there is no detailed information on the internal phylogeny of Pentatomidae, it is not possible to make a robust inference on whether paternal care in L. augur and E. nigropunctata has arisen independently or not. If the latter, the two new cases of paternal care we describe here represent the fifth event of independent evolution of this rare behavioral trait in Heteroptera.