Mauricio Sergio Zacarias

Phytoseiid Mites (Acari) Associated With Rubber Trees And Other Euphorbiaceous Plants In Southeastern Brazil

Twenty five known mite species of the family Phytoseiidae were found in a survey conducted on trees of the family Euphorbiaceae, including native plant species and rubber tree, in three regions of the State of Sao Paulo. Several of the species collected were known until now only from the original description. Five of the mite species mentioned in this paper correspond to new combinations. Complementary descriptions of several of the species collected are provided.

INFLUÊNCIA DO REGIME PLUVIOMÉTRICO NA DISTRIBUIÇÃO DE ÁCAROS EM CAFEEIROS CONDUZIDOS EM SISTEMAS ORGÂNICO E CONVENCIONAL

Climate changes, such as temperature rise, prolonged drought and heavy rainfall, impairs man’s life and food production. Rainfall is one of the most important natural, life-sustaining factors on the planet and it is essential in agriculture, not only in the watering of plants, but also in regulating pest organisms in crops, through mechanical control. The mites Brevipalpus phoenicis (Geijskes, 1939) and Oligonychus ilicis (McGregor, 1917) (Acari: Tenuipalpidae, Tetranychidae) are important coffee pests which are also influenced by the rainfall regime. The aim of this work was to study the distribution of coffee predatory (Phytoseiidae family) and phytophagous ( B. phoenicis and O. ilicis ) mites in function of rainfall, between June/2006 and June/2008, in organic and conventional coffee cultivation systems. The experiments were conducted at the Cachoeira (organic coffee production) and Taquaril (conventional system) farms, located in the municipality of Santo Antonio do Amparo, Minas Gerais state, in Brazil. Leaves were removed monthly from the middle part of the coffee plants from both the organic and conventional systems. It was concluded that rainfall influences the populations of pest and predatory mites in the different coffee production systems, but this effect was less intense on the organically cultivated coffee.

Phylogenetic and biogeographic analysis of the genus Caribeacarus (Acari : Opilioacarida), with description of a new South American species

Abstract. The mite order Opilioacarida is widely distributed in the tropical and sub-tropical zones of the world, where it is rare and poorly known. On the American continent only two genera, 14 species and one subspecies are known. This work aimed to describe a new species of Caribeacarus from the state of Pará, in the eastern part of the Brazilian Amazon. A phylogenetic analysis of the species in this genus is also presented, and interpreted along with the historical biogeography of this genus in Central and South America. A key to the species of Caribeacarus is provided.

Spatial and temporal dynamics of coffee-leaf-miner and predatory wasps in organic coffee field in formation

The coffee production is an economic mainstay for many countries in the world. Brazil is the world’s largest producer and exporter of coffee, being responsible for about 25% of the world production. It is well known that coffee plantations are susceptible to more than 850 fungal and insect pests. Among these pests, the most important significant throughout Brazil is the coffee-leaf-miner, [Leucoptera coffeella (Guerin-Meneville & Perrottet, 1842) (Lepidoptera: Lyonetiidae)]. It is estimated that the loss in yield due to infestation by L. coffeella moths can increase to as much as 80% in areas where the coffee-leaf-miner larvae are not controlled. Though it is effective, the chemical control of the pest substantially increases the cost of production and constitutes a risk to the environment. The knowledge about the spatialtemporal dynamics of coffee-leaf-miner and predatory wasps may provide valuable information about the biological management pest context. One way to investigate the spatialtemporal synchronism of predator and prey is to calculate and compare an index of spatial randomness within a sequence time. This paper advocates using the Morisita’s index, coupled with the bootstrap method, in a temporal sequence to characterize the spatial- temporal dynamics of coffee-leaf-miner and predatory wasp (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) in one hectare of an organic coffee plantation. The results showed that coffeeleaf-miner and predatory wasps presented a seasonal behavior with a temporal synchronism. The results also showed that both new and preyed mines were aggregated during the peak population (dry season). There was little evidence for spacetime interaction between coffee-leaf-miner and predatory wasps.

Fitoseídeos (Acari: Phytoseiidae) associados a cafezais e fragmentos florestais vizinhos

Existem poucas informacoes sobre a fauna de acaros predadores (Phytoseiidae) em ambientes naturais brasileiros adjacentes a agroecossistemas cafeeiros (Coffea spp.) ou sobre a influencia que essa vegetacao exerce como reservatorio de acaros predadores. Neste estudo, objetivou-se avaliar a diversidade destes organismos em cafeeiros e fragmentos florestais adjacentes. Coletaram-se amostras das especies Calyptranthes clusiifolia (Miq.) O. Berg (Myrtaceae), Esenbeckia febrifuga (A. St.-Hil.) A. Juss. ex Mart. (Rutaceae), Metrodorea stipularis Mart. (Rutaceae) e Allophylus semidentatus (Miq.) Radlk. (Sapindaceae), em oito fragmentos florestais, de 5 a 51 ha, e cafezais adjacentes, nos meses de junho (final periodo chuvoso) e outubro (final periodo seco) nos anos 2004 e 2005, na regiao Sul do Estado de Minas Gerais. Acaros foram extraidos das folhas, utilizando o metodo de lavagem e, em seguida, montados em lâminas de microscopia em meio de Hoyer, para identificacao especifica. No total foram identificados 2.348 fitoseideos, sendo 2.090 nos fragmentos florestais e 258 especimes nos cafezais adjacentes, pertencentes a 38 especies. Servindo-se de analise faunistica, a especie Iphiseiodes zuluagai Denmark & Muma, 1972 apresentou os melhores indices no agroecossistema cafeeiro, sendo muito frequente e constante nas epocas estudadas. Nos fragmentos florestais Amblyseius herbicolus Chant, 1959, Iphiseiodes affs. neonobilis Denmark & Muma, 1978, Leonseius regularis DeLeon, 1965 e Euseius alatus DeLeon, 1966 foram dominantes, muito abundantes, muito frequentes e constantes nas epocas estudadas. Podemos concluir que a vegetacao nativa abriga acaros predadores, inimigos naturais de acaros-praga, que ocorrem na cultura cafeeira, possibilitando o desenvolvimento de programas de manejo ecologico com areas de vegetacao natural e agroecossistemas cafeeiros adjacentes.

Two new species of phytoseiid mites (Acari: Phytoseiidae) from the State of São Paulo, Brazil

Abstract Two new species of phytoseid mites collected from trees in woody areas are described as new to science. The species are: Proprioseius retroacuminatus sp. n. and Galendromimus paulista sp. n.. The second species does not fit any of the subgenera of Galendromimus defined by Chant and McMurtry (1994).

A new species of Neocarus Chamberlin & Mulaik, 1942 (Opilioacarida, Opilioacaridae) from Brazil, with remarks on its postlarval development

Abstract Neocarus proteus sp. n., is described from caves and the surrounding epigean environment of ferruginous outcrops (Cangas) in Minas Gerais, Brazil. In addition, some notes about development in this species are presented. Neocarus proteus is the only species in the genus that has smooth or barbed genital setae and that carries coronidia on the basitarsi, tibiae and genua of legs II–III. Females carry additional setae with rounded tips on the subcapitulum, and are, on average, larger than males. This distinct sexual dimorphism appears in the tritonymphal instar and is maintained in the adults.

Influence of the webbing produced by Oligonychus ilicis (McGregor) (Acari: Tetranychidae) on associated predatory phytoseiids.

Oligonychus ilicis (McGregor) is among those mite species that can cause damage to coffee plants (Coffea spp.). Species of Phytoseiidae acari are considered the most important and studied predatory mites. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of the webbing produced by O.ilicis on its predation by females of the phytoseiids Iphiseiodes zuluagai Denmark & Muma, Euseius citrifolius Denmark & Muma and Amblyseius herbicolus (Chant). Four bioassays were conducted, with three treatments and ten replicates. Each replicate consisted of 25 O.ilicis per experimental unit (a leaf disc of Coffea arabica) according to the tested developmental stage, in independent experiments. To spin the web, 15 adult females were put on each experimental unit for 24h; females were then removed, leaving only the web, and predators and prey to be tested were introduced. Predation was assessed after 24h. In the presence of webbing, the consumption of eggs, larvae and nymphs by I.zuluagai and eggs and larvae by E.citrifolius was lower. For A.herbicolus, egg predation was lower, but larval predation did not vary significantly and predation of nymphs and adults was higher in the presence of webbing. Predators as a whole were more efficient consuming larvae regardless of the presence of webbing. Considering the stages of O.ilicis altogether, webbing reduced the predation potential of I.zuluagai and E. citrifolius, but not of A. herbicolus.