Joselia Maria Schuber

First record of Duponchelia fovealis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) in South America

espanolEl primer reporte de Duponchelia fovealis Zeller (Lepidoptera:Crambidae) fue por danos a la fresa (Fragaria x ananassa) en America del Sur en el Estado del Parana, Brasil. Se encontraron tres enemigos naturales para controlar D. fovealis identificados como Apanteles sp. (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), Hyaliodocoris insignis (Heteroptera: Miridae) y el hongo entomopatogenico Beauveria bassiana. EnglishThe European pepper moth Duponcheliafovealis Zeller (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) is reported for the first time in South America, in the State of Parana, Brazil. D.fovealis causes damage to strawberries and weakens the plants. Three natural enemies controlling D.fovealis were found and identified as Apanteles sp. (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), Hyaliodocoris insignis (Heteroptera: Miridae) and the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana.

Influência de sistemas de produção sobre a ocorrência de inimigos naturais de afídeos em pomares de pessegueiros em Araucária-PR

The pressure of the society has forced the adoption of more sustainable fruit production systems and with less environmental impact. The objective of this work was to verify the influence of production systems of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and Conventional Production (CP), about the diversity of natural enemies of aphids present on six orchards of peach trees in the city of Araucaria, PR, from July 2005 to September 2006. The evaluation of the number of natural enemies of aphids species was made by means of five sampling methods: visual in plants of peach trees; visual in invading plants; yellow water traps of Moericke type; funnel and adhesive traps. In the system GPA, more specimens of natural enemies had been collected (53%) in relation to orchards CP (46%), having the occurrence, in both orchards, of predators of the Syrphidae, Coccinellidae and Chrysopidae family and parasitoids of Hymenoptera order. Concerning the total of collected natural enemies, it was verified the greatest occurrence of aphid predators.

Population fluctuation and faunal indices of aphids (Hemiptera, Aphididae) in peach orchards in Araucária, PR

Aphids are sap-sucking insects that mainly attack shoots and young leaves of peach trees and many other plant species; however, knowledge of the Brazilian aphid fauna is scant. The objective of this study was to identify aphid species collected in peach orchards (Prunus persica Batsch) and to determine their faunal indices for occurrence and dominance. The experiment was conducted from July 2005 to September 2006 in six Chimarrita peach orchards in the municipality of Araucária, PR, Brazil. The survey of aphid species was conducted by visual samplings on peach trees and using Möericke-type yellow traps containing water. A faunal analysis was made using aphid occurrence and dominance indices. Brachycaudus persicae (Passerini, 1860) was the only aphid species that was found colonizing peach in Araucária/PR. Although most aphids collected were classified as rare, some can be considered potential peach colonizers, such as Myzus persicae (Sulzer, 1776) which was given the status of common or intermediate in some of the orchards studied. The population fluctuation of aphids showed a negative correlation with rainfall and positive correlation with temperature and relative humidity.

Records of Arorathrips mexicanus (Crawford, 1909) and Arorathrips fulvus (Moulton, 1936) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) in the municipality of Araucária, Paraná, Brazil

The aim of this study was to record the occurrence of the species Arorathrips mexicanus (Crawford, 1909) and Arorathrips fulvus (Moulton, 1936) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) in the municipality of Araucária, Paraná, Brazil. Thrips were captured in Möericke traps installed originally for the collection of aphids in two commercial orchards with one being peach (cultivar Chimarrita) and the other nectarine (cultivar Bruna), in Araucária, Paraná (25° 35’ 35’’ S and 49° 24’ 37’’ W, altitude: 897 m). The samplings in the peach orchard were conducted from July to December of 2005, and in the nectarine orchard from September to December of 2007. A total of 24 Möericke traps were installed randomly in each orchard. The traps were installed between rows and placed on 0.9 m high wooden supports. Weekly, the contents of each trap were transferred to a fine-mesh sieve, and with the help of forceps, the thrips were transferred to plastic containers, previously labeled, containing 70% ethyl alcohol. In each sampling, the traps were washed and the solution renewed. In the laboratory, the thrips were separated by morphospecies under a stereomicroscope and later mounted on permanent slides, according to the method of Palmer et al. (1989). Identification was performed with the aid of identification keys proposed by Mound and Palmer (1972) and Moritz et al., 2004. Four specimens of A. mexicanus were collected in peach orchards in August 2005 and two of A. fulvus in nectarine orchards in September 2007. The principal differences between A. mexicanus and A. fulvus are the number of setae on the vertex of the head and the occurrence of the extension of the apex of the tibia (Mound and Marulo, 1996). A. mexicanus is characterized by having an extended apex of the tibia and 3 to 4 pairs of setae on the vertex of the head. This species has been encountered in cultivated pastures of subtropical areas of the world. A. fulvus possesses 15 to 20 setae on the vertex of the head and does not show a protrusion of the apex of the tibia along the outer edge of the fore tarsi (Mound and Marulo, 1996). The genus Arorathrips comprises 13 New World species (Mound and Marulo, 1996). In Brazil, the species of this genus are not cited as pests of stone fruit trees, but have been reported to cause damage to monocotyledons (Monteiro, 2002). Almeida et al. (1994) collected two Arorathrips (= Chirothrips) mexicanus in Ambrosia polystachya DC in Arapoti, Paraná. In orchards in Araucária, where the samplings were made, the presence of some species of grasses (Poaceae) was verified, such as Avena strigosa Schreb, Brachiaria mutica (Forsk.) Stapf and Brachiaria plantaginea (Link) Hitchc. Therefore, new studies are needed utilizing more specific collection methods, to determine the species of plants that serve as hosts to thrips of the genus Arorathrips. A. mexicanus are spread by grasses in tropical regions and on various Caribbean islands, as well as in Panama, Costa Rica and Brazil (São Paulo). A. fulvus has been reported in Hawaii, Texas and Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul and São Paulo) (Mound and Marulo, 1996). This work represents the first record of A. mexicanus and A. fulvus in the municipality of Araucária, Paraná, Brazil, and associates these insects with the vegetation in these orchards of stone fruit trees. These findings help amplify our knowledge of the entomofauna of thrips, as well as of the geographic distribution of the Arorathrips species in Brazil.