Genésio Tâmara Ribeiro

Spittlebug Cephisus siccifolius damaging eucalypt plants in the State of Bahia, Brazil

Os insetos-praga mais comuns em plantios de eucalipto no Brasil sao formigas cortadeiras e lagartas desfolhadoras. Eventualmente, outros insetos como percevejos e cigarrinhas podem danificar essas plantas. O objetivo deste trabalho foi identificar e descrever os sintomas de ataque, em um plantio de eucalipto de 25,77 hectares, no Estado da Bahia, onde 99,3% das arvores tinham sido atacadas pela cigarrinha-de-espuma Cephisus siccifolius (Walker 1851) (Hemiptera: Aphrophoridae). Os danos foram maiores em galhos e folhas. A mortalidade de arvores foi baixa, apesar de se observar 4,7 colonias de cigarrinhas por arvore, com 21,9 ninfas por colonia. O corte das arvores infestadas foi recomendado como controle.

Lasioderma serricorne (Coleoptera: Anobiidae): First Record in Dehydrated Bee Pollen in Sergipe State, Brazil

SUMMARY Bee pollen, which is the material that adheres to honeybees as they collect nectar from flowers, is agglutinated into balls with nectar and bee saliva substances and is important to the survival of colonies of these insects. Damage to bee pollen stored at 10% RH was found in samples collected in Sergipe State, Brazil. Insects found in the pollen were identified as Lasioderma serricorne (Fabricius, 1792) (Coleoptera: Anobiidae), a cosmopolitan insect and one of the main insects infesting tobacco and many stored food products. This is the first record of damage by this insect in dehydrated pollen balls, which makes this product unfit for human consumption.

Effects of Temperature on the Development of Stenoma impressella (Lepidoptera: Elachistidae) on Oil Palm in Colombia

Abstract Stenoma impressella Busck (Lepidoptera: Elachistidae) is an important oil palm pest and its life history and life table parameters were studied at various temperatures, from 16 °C to 40 °C. Females and males developed successfully into adults between 20 °C and 36 °C. However, no eggs were found at 10 °C and all the adults died after exposure to 40 °C. The developmental time from egg to adult was higher (170.5 days) at 15 °C and lower (76.6 days) at 35 °C. Therefore, temperature has a strong effect on the development of S. impressella from 15 °C to 35 °C. The reproductive period varied between 15–35 °C with 6.82 to 3.24 days for pre-oviposition, 17.5 to 4.89 days for oviposition, and 5.29 to 0.82 days for the postoviposition period. Female longevity was longer than that of the male, at all temperatures. The population growth parameters of S. impressella net reproductive rate (R0), intrinsic rate increase (rm), finite increase rate (&lgr;), mean generation time (T) and doubling time (D) were significantly affected by temperature. Temperature affects S. impressella populations by reducing or increasing their possible occurrence in the palm trees. The effect of temperature on the development, survival and reproduction of S. impressella can be useful for predicting its long-term population fluctuation as an invasive pest of oil palm plantations.

Dechorionation and Permeabilization of Podisus nigrispinus (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) Eggs: Limiting Factors for Cryopreservation

Abstract Cryopreservation protocols have been developed for eggs of Diptera, Lepidoptera, and Hymenoptera; however, for Heteroptera, such as Podisus nigrispinus Dallas, 1851 (Pentatomidae), no procedures have been described yet. The objective of this study was to evaluate the processes of dechorionation and permeabilization on the viability of eggs of P. nigrispinus with different embryonic ages. In the laboratory, embryos of 24, 48, 72, and 96 h of age were submitted to sodium hydroxide, sodium hypochlorite, isopropyl, and hexane solutions for dechorionation and permeabilization.The experiment was carried out in a 4 × 8 factorial scheme. Sodium hydroxide affects embryo viability; however, 96-h-old embryos showed higher viability when compared with 24, 48, and 72-h-old embryos. Microscope observations showed that, after the treatments, the chorion of P. nigrispinus eggs was reduced to 5.11 ± 0.30 µm. These solutions for dechorionation and permeabilization of P. nigrispinus eggs together with embryonic age affect the viability of embryos to be cryopreserved.

Foraging behavior: the food choice and quality of honey from Melipona scutellaris latreille (hymenoptera: Apidae)

Data on the preferred foraging times and identification of pollen collected by stingless bees has led to further insights into the bees’ behavioral and ecological habits, thus enabling the analysis of the honey produced which in turn will facilitate quality control of this product. Present study reveals the foraging times and food preferences of the stingless bee Melipona scutellaris (hymenoptera: Apidae) together with a physicochemical evaluation of the honey produced by this bee. M. scutellaris tended to be more active in the morning during the winter, visited a wide variety of plants in their search for food, and produced a good quality honey. In winter the bees showed generalist behavior foraging many different plants.

First Report of Caryedes brasiliensis (Thunberg) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Bruchinae) Preying on Seeds of Dioclea violacea Mart. ex Benth. (Fabaceae) In Brazil

The genus Dioclea Kunth (Fabaceae: Papilionoideae: Diocleinae) has over 50 species that occur in tropical zones, mostly in Central and South America, especially in the Amazon forest (Perez et al. 1990; Souza and Lorenzi 2012). Dioclea violacea Mart. ex Benth. is a climbing woody vine characterized by trifoliate leaves and a pink corolla. It is found in Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil. In Brazil, this plant occurs in the biomes Caatinga (Burkart 1970; Mendonça-Filho 1996; Fernandes et al. 2015), Atlantic Forest, Pampa, and Pantanal (Fernandes et al. 2015) in the states of Bahia, Sergipe, Pernambuco, Piauí (northeastern region), Mato Grosso do Sul (mid-eastern region), Minas Gerais, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Espírito Santo (southeastern region), Rio Grande do Sul, Paraná, and Santa Catarina (southern region) (Fernandes et al. 2015). The ethyl extract from D. violacea seeds is used as a formicide and parasiticide and applied to the skin damaged by insect bites or poisonous animals (Leprevost 1952; Mello et al. 1971). Bruchinae, or seed beetles, are presently assigned to the family Chrysomelidae. Their larvae develop in plant seeds, mostly Fabaceae. Several species are of agricultural importance (Southgate 1979; Terborgh 1990; Romero-Nápoles 2002; Kingsolver 2004) because their host plants are grown for human food or livestock fodder (Southgate 1979). The bruchine larvae feed inside the seeds on the seed endosperm, and they can also consume the embryo. Studies reporting the presence of Coleoptera causing damage to Dioclea seeds are restricted to the genera Caryedes Hummel and mostly in Costa Rica (Jansen 1969, 1971; Rosenthal et al. 1976; Rosenthal 1983). Therefore, this study aims to record and identify the causal agent of damage to seeds of D. violacea in Brazil. Dioclea violacea seeds (Fig. 1) were collected at Fazenda Santo Antonio, Pacatuba, Sergipe,

First report Thaumastocoris peregrinus in Eucalyptus plantations in the State of Sergipe, Brazil (Hemiptera: Thaumastocoridae)

Abstract Thaumastocoris peregrinus (Hemiptera: Thaumastocoridae) is a new insect pest that is associated with the Eucalyptus plantations. The damage caused by this insect on eucalyptus is easily identifiable. There is an initial silvering of the leaves, which progresses to tanning of the treetops. This is the first record of T. peregrinus attacking isolated Eucalyptus plants located in the municipality of São Cristóvão-Sergipe.