Maria Aico Watanabe

Banana tree pests attacking Heliconia latispatha Benth. (Heliconiaceae)

In mid-May 2005, the caterpillars Antichloris eriphia (Fabr.) (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae) and Calligo illioneus (Cramer) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) which are banana tree pests, were found attacking six-month old stalks of Heliconia latispatha Benth., planted near a banana tree plantation in Jaguariuna, SP, Brazil. The attack by C. illioneus is observed by the first time in Brazil.

Effect of a Formulation of Anticarsia gemmatalis (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Nuclear Polyhedrosis Virus on the Predator Podisus nigrispinus (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae: Asopinae), Using the Fertility Life Table Parameters

Abstract Two experiments were carried out in the laboratory to evaluate the effect of a formulation of the nuclear polyhedrosis virus (NPV) of the velvetbean caterpillar, Anticarsia gemmatalis Hübner (AgNPV), on the predator Podisus nigrispinus Dallas. In the first experiment, predators were exclusively fed A. gemmatalis reared on artificial diet, treated with one formulation of the AgNPV (infected prey) or with water (healthy prey) as the control. In the second experiment, an additional treatment was incorporated in which the artificial diet was treated with an inactive (autoclaved) AgNPV formulation. The predators were fed on these exclusive prey during their entire lifespans for three or four consecutive generations, during the first and second experiment, respectively. Daily observation of oviposition and mortality were performed to provide data for the construction of fertility life tables and to determine daily oviposition patterns and survival distribution curves. For both experiments, no adverse effects were observed in the first generation. However, significant effects in the predator population were observed throughout the subsequent generations, when the predators were fed with prey that fed on infective or inactivated AgNPV diet compared with the healthy prey. The adverse effects observed might be due to some inert components present in the commercial formulation, because the AgNPV has been demonstrated to be highly specific to Lepidoptera and neither does it replicate nor has any adverse effect on P. nigrispinus. The fertility life tables proved to be a good tool to measure the potential impact of biopesticides on nontarget population under laboratory conditions. RESUMO Dois experimentos foram realizados em condições de laboratório para avaliar o efeito de uma formulação comercial de Vírus da Poliedrose Nuclear da lagarta da soja, Anticarsia gemmatalis Hübner (AgNPV) na biologia de Podisus nigrispinus Dallas. No primeiro experimento, os predadores foram alimentados exclusivamente com A. gemmatalis criadas em dieta artificial, tratada com uma formulação de AgNPV (presa infectada) ou com água (presa sadia), como controle. No segundo experimento, foi incorporado um tratamento adicional no qual a dieta artificial foi tratada com uma formulação de AgNPV inativada (autoclavada). Os predadores foram alimentados com essas presas exclusivas durante toda a vida por três ou quatro gerações consecutivas, durante o primeiro e o segundo experimentos, respectivamente. Observações diárias da oviposição e mortalidade foram feitas para se obter dados para a construção de tabelas de vida de fertilidade e para determinar os padrões de oviposição diária e distribuição das curvas de sobrevivência. Para ambos os experimentos, não foram observados efeitos adversos na primeira geração. Contudo, efeitos significativos sobre a população do predador foram observados nas gerações subsequentes nos tratamentos com AgNPV ativo e inativado, mas não com o controle. Os efeitos adversos observados poderiam ser atribuidos a componentes inertes presentes na formulação comercial do biopesticida, uma vez que o AgNPV tem demonstrado ser altamente seguro a organismos não alvos e especifico para lepidopteros. As tabelas de vida mostraram ser uma boa ferramenta para se medir efeitos de biopesticidas sobre diversos parâmetros biológicos de populações de organismos não alvo.

Efeito do nucleopoliedrovirus de Anticarsia gemmatalis Hübner (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) na biologia de Nabis sp. (Heteroptera: Nabidae)

Bioassays to evaluate effects of biopesticides on non-target organisms are generally restricted to measuring such effects on mortality rates, caused either by pathogenicity or toxicity and changes in their predation or parasitism rate. Evaluations on survivorship and reproduction, necessary to construct fertility life tables, are also important by allowing a measurement of population growth rates of those organisms. The intrinsic rate of increase (rm), net reproduction rate (Ro), mean generation time (MGT) and doubling time (DT) of Nabis sp. were evaluated during two consecutive generations for predators fed healthy Anticarsia gemmatalis (Hubner) caterpillars and predators fed caterpillars infected by a formulation of a nucleopolyhedrovirus (NPV) of this host. Such parameters and their respective variances were estimated using jackknife method. No significant differences were observed in this study for these parameters, what indicates that the biopesticide does not affect Nabis sp., even when it is fed exclusively virus-infected caterpillars.