Insect galls of the Reserva Biológica União, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Abstract: Several inventories of insect galls have been performed in the Atlantic Forest of Rio de Janeiro, mostly in restingas, whereas the other phytophysiognomies remain poorly sampled. The present study inventoried the insect galls of Reserva Biológica União (RJ), a protected area comprising mainly Ombrophilous Forest. Field work was performed every two months from January to October, 2013. Insect galls were collected, photographed, characterized and transported to the laboratory. Adults were obtained by rearing and immature stages by gall dissection. The insects were deposited in the Cecidomyiidae Collection of the Museu Nacional. A total of 153 gall morphotypes were found on plants representing 37 plant families, 69 genera, 55 species and 53 morphospecies. Among them, two plant genera and five species were reported for the first time as host plants in Ombrophilous Forest. REBIO União showed little similarlity of host plant species and insect gall morphotypes when compared with other investigated Ombrophilous Forest areas. The leaf was the most attacked plant organ as expected. Asteraceae, Bignoniaceae, Fabaceae and Myrtaceae, and Mikania (Asteraceae) and Myrcia (Myrtaceae) were the richest host families and genera, respectivey, in number of gall morphotypes, all previously indicated as superhosts by other Brazilian Ombrophilous Forest inventories, except Bignoniaceae. Their great species richness may be related to their great gall richness, adding evidence in support of the taxon size hypothesis. Fusiform and globose galls were the most frequent, green was the predominant color, and most morphotypes did not present an indumentum. The highest gall richness was recorded in June and August. The gallers were distributed among Diptera (Cecidomyiidae), Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera, Hemiptera and Thysanoptera, with the first being predominant, following a global pattern. Eight gall-inducing species are recorded for the first time in REBIO União and four in Ombrophilous Forest. About 25% of the gall morphotypes were occupied by dwellers other than those that created the gall. They comprised parasitoids (Hymenoptera), inquilines (Diptera: Sciaridae and Muscomorpha, Hemiptera, and Lepidoptera) and successors (Psocoptera, mites, and Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Although these taxa were previously reported by Brazilian inventories of insect galls, 12 new association with plants are recorded. The amount of new records reinforces the importance of inventories.

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Insect galls on Myrtaceae: richness and distribution in brazilian restingas

Biota Neotropica ◽

10.1590/1676-0611-bn-2018-0526 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 19 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Valéria Cid Maia

Keyword(s):

Host Plant ◽

Rio De Janeiro ◽

Single Species ◽

The State ◽

Published Data ◽

Associated Fauna ◽

Insect Galls ◽

Insect Gall ◽

First Time ◽

Internal Chamber

Abstract: Inventories in Brazilian restingas have been indicating that Myrtaceae are the plant family with the greatest richness of insect galls. A compilation of published data plus new records was elaborated with the aim of stablishing the number of gall morphotypes on this family in this physiognomy of the Atlantic Forest, producing a list of galled species, pointing out the predominant gall features, evaluating the taxonomical knowledge of the gallers, listing the associated fauna, and based on host plant endemisms and monophagy proposing the endemism of some galling species. Myrtaceae harbor 111 morphotypes of insect gall (about 75% induced by Cecidomyiidae, Diptera) on 25 host plant species, 15 endemic. Eugenia L. highlights as the plant genus with the highest number of galled species and gall richness. Leaves are the most galled organ. There is a predominance of globoid and fusiform shapes, green color, glabrous surface and a single internal chamber. The taxonomical data on gallers is deficient as many records have been presented at supraspecific levels. The associated fauna is rich and includes parasitoids, inquilines and predators. Twelve species of Cecidomyiidae, a single species of Curculionidae (Coleoptera) and one species of Eriococcidae (Hemiptera) have been associated exclusively with endemic hosts and then are proposed in the present study as endemic too. The geographical distribution of many galls and respective gallers are restricted to the State of Rio de Janeiro, where most inventories have been carried out. For the first time, Eugeniamyia dispar, previously known from a rural area of Rio Grande do Sul and restinga areas of São Paulo, is recorded in the State of Rio de Janeiro.

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Insect galls of the xeric vegetation of Ilha do Cabo Frio (Arraial do Cabo, RJ, Brazil)

Biota Neotropica ◽

10.1590/s1676-06032013000300030 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 13 (3) ◽

pp. 278-288 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Valéria Cid Maia ◽

Marcelo da Costa Souza

Keyword(s):

Host Plant ◽

Plant Species ◽

Field Work ◽

Insect Galls ◽

Gall Midges ◽

Plant Organ ◽

Plant Families ◽

Galling Insects ◽

First Time ◽

Cabo Frio

The xeric vegetation of Ilha do Cabo Frio (Arraial do Cabo, RJ) was investigated for insect galls, in May, June and August of 2012, totalizing 24 hours of field work. Forty-five morphotypes of insect galls were found on 29 species of host plant (25 genera and 18 families). Asteraceae and Myrtaceae were the most galled plant families. Leaves were the most galled plant organ, with ca. 62% of the total, followed by stems (ca. 22%). Globoid and fusiform galls were the most frequent with about 29% and 24%, respectively. The majority was glabrous (ca. 91%), and one-chambered (ca. 84%). Gallers of 30 morphotypes were determined. They belong to Diptera (Cecidomyiidae), and Lepidoptera. The former was the most frequent. Larvae of Muscomorpha (Diptera) (probably inquilines) were found in a single gall morphotype; parasitoids (Hymenoptera) in seven (ca. 15% of the total), and predators (pseudoscorpion) in a single one. As there is no previous data of insect galls of Ilha do Cabo Frio, all records presented here are new. The geographic distribution of nine species of gall midges (Diptera, Cecidomyiidae) is widened. For the first time, eleven plant species are recorded as host of galling insects, and 24 gall morphotypes are described.

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Diversity of insect galls from Mato Grosso State, Brazil: North Pantanal

Biota Neotropica ◽

10.1590/1676-0611-bn-2021-1190 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Maria Virginia Urso-Guimarães ◽

Ingrid Koch ◽

Ana Carolina Devides Castello

Keyword(s):

Host Plant ◽

Plant Species ◽

Host Plants ◽

Plant Interactions ◽

Insect Galls ◽

Mato Grosso ◽

Host Plant Species ◽

Insect Gall ◽

Plant Families ◽

First Time

Abstract: The Pantanal Biome occupies 20% of the Brazilian territory extending its distribution over two Brazilian States, Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul. This Biome is one of Brazil's poorly known regions concerning insect gall and their interactions with host plants. In this study, we characterized for the first time the gall morphology, identified host plants and the gall makers from an area of Brazilian wetlands from Mato Grosso State, known as Pantanal Matogrossense. We sampled Pantanal Biome areas in Poconé municipality, along the Transpantaneira Road, Mato Grosso State, Brazil, in two expeditions, July 2012 and January 2013, with a total effort of 2 hours. We characterized 91 morphotypes of insect galls in 54 host plant species; 28 gall makers in 24 host plant species; the richest host plant families are Fabaceae, Myrtaceae, and Sapindaceae. Psidium guineense Sw. is the super host species. This area in Pantanal Matogrossense is the second in the richness of gall morphotypes (N=91) and average morphotypes/plant species (1.7), comparing phytophysiognomies. Additionally, 15 plant species are new record as host in galler-host plant interaction in the world. This number represents 30% of the total of host plant species sampled in Poconé. This inventory is new knowledge to the Pantanal Matogrossense and representing a unique testimony of insect-plant interactions consumed by the unprecedented fire that occurred in Pantanal Biome in the dry season of 2020.

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Occurrence and characterization of insect galls in the Floresta Nacional de Silvânia, Brazil

Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia ◽

10.11606/0031-1049.2017.57.32 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 57 (32) ◽

pp. 413 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Bárbara Araújo Ribeiro Bergamini ◽

Leonardo Lima Bergamini ◽

Benedito Baptista dos Santos ◽

Walter Santos de Araújo

Keyword(s):

Plant Species ◽

Insect Galls ◽

Systematic Survey ◽

Forest Sites ◽

Main Host ◽

Insect Gall ◽

First Time

In the present paper we investigated the insect gall distribution along savanna and forest sites in the Floresta Nacional de Silvânia, Goiás, Brazil. The insect gall fauna was surveyed bi-monthly between December 2009 and June 2010. In total we found 186 insect gall morphotypes, distributed on 35 botanical families and 61 plant species. Ninety-nine insect gall morphotypes were recorded in the forest and 87 in the savanna. Gall-inducing insects belonged to Coleoptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, Lepidoptera and Thysanoptera, with highlight to Cecidomyiidae (Diptera) that induced 34.1% of the gall morphotypes. Parasitoids and/or inquilines were recorded in 38 morphotypes, mainly from the families Eulophidae, Eurytomidae and Torymidae (Hymenoptera). Fabaceae was the botanical family with the greatest richness of galls, followed by Asteraceae and Sapindaceae, being Protium (Burseraceae), Siparuna (Siparunaceae) and Serjania (Sapindaceae) the main host genera. This is the first systematic survey of insect galls realized in the Flona-Silvânia, which result in six plant species are recorded for the first time in Brazil as host of insect galls.

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Insect galls of São Tomé das Letras (MG, Brazil)

Biota Neotropica ◽

10.1590/s1676-06032013000400017 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 13 (4) ◽

pp. 164-189 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Valéria Cid Maia

Keyword(s):

Plant Species ◽

Host Species ◽

Associated Fauna ◽

Insect Galls ◽

Plant Organ ◽

Aerial Roots ◽

Plant Families ◽

First Time

Six localities of São Tomé das Letras (MG, Brazil) were investigated from September, 2011 to June, 2012. The local vegetation was examined in search of insect galls. A total of 152 morphotypes of insect galls were found on 94 plant species (74 genera and 37 families). Fabaceae, Melastomataceae, Myrtaceae, and Asteraceae were the plant families with the greatest richness of galls, with 20, 18, 17, and 12 gall morphotypes, respectively. The super host genera were Copaifera L. (Fabaceae), Myrcia DC. ex. Guill. (Myrtaceae), and Miconia Ruiz & Pav. (Melastomataceae), with 10, 10 and 09 gall morphotypes, respectively. The super host species was Copaifera cf.langsdorfii Desf. (Fabaceae), with 10 gall morphotypes. Galls were found on leaves, stems, buds, and aerial roots. Leaves were the most galled plant organ, followed by stems, and buds. The inducers belong to Diptera, Lepidoptera, Hemiptera, Thysanoptera, Coleoptera, and Hymenoptera, being Cecidomyiidae (Diptera) the most frequent and diversified gallers. The associated fauna included parasitoids (Hymenoptera), inquilines (Lepidoptera and Thysanoptera), successors (Formicidae, Hymenoptera), and predators (pseudoscorpion), obtained from 18, 02, 02, and 01 gall morphotype, respectively. Ten galling species are recorded for the first time in São Tomé das Letras (MG). The present study indicates São Tomé das Letras (MG) as an area of great richness of insect galls.

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Insect galls from Serra dos Pireneus, GO, Brazil

Biota Neotropica ◽

10.1590/s1676-06032011000200034 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 357-365 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Walter Santos de Araújo ◽

Benedito Baptista dos Santos ◽

Vera Lúcia Gomes-Klein

Keyword(s):

Host Plant ◽

Plant Species ◽

Brazilian Cerrado ◽

Insect Galls ◽

Host Plant Species ◽

Plant Families ◽

First Time

In this study we recorded the occurrence of insect galls, inductors and parasitoids in plants of several physiognomies of Brazilian Cerrado in the Serra dos Pireneus, Goiás State, Brazil. We found 62 morphotypes of gall on 28 botanical families, comprising 44 genera and 51 species. The plant families that showed the greatest richness of galls were Fabaceae, with eight morphotypes, and Styracaceae with six. Styrax pohlii (Styracaceae) was the host plant species with the greatest gall richness, featuring five morphotypes. Most of galls occurred on the leaves (82.6%), 45.1% in vegetation of typical savanna and 35.4% in rocky savanna. Dipteran, Hemipteran and Lepidopteran galls were found, being 50.9% of them induced by Cecidomyiidae (Diptera). Several parasitoids were obtained, Eulophidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) was the most representative group (occurring in approximately 40% of the galls). Nine species of plants were recorded for the first time in the Neotropical as host of gallers.

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Insect galls in Rupestrian field and Cerrado stricto sensu vegetation in Caetité, Bahia, Brazil

Biota Neotropica ◽

10.1590/1676-0611-bn-2017-0402 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 18 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Leir Guimarães Vieira ◽

Ravena Malheiros Nogueira ◽

Elaine Cotrim Costa ◽

Sheila Patrícia Carvalho-Fernandes ◽

Juliana Santos Silva

Keyword(s):

Host Plant ◽

Plant Species ◽

Host Species ◽

Insect Species ◽

Associated Fauna ◽

Insect Galls ◽

Cerrado Vegetation ◽

Plant Families ◽

First Time

Abstract: We investigated insect galls in Rupestrian field and Cerrado vegetation in the municipality of Caetité (BA), Brazil, between August/2015 and June/2016. This is the first study of gall diversity in Rupestrian field vegetation in that state. We encountered 48 different morphotypes of galls, distributed among 17 different plant species belonging to 13 genera and 21 host plant families. The greatest gall richness was observed in Cerrado (n=39) as compared to Rupestrian field (n=9) vegetation. The principal botanical families observed with galls were Leguminosae, Malpighiaceae, and Myrtaceae, with 10, 8 and 4 morphotypes, respectively. The genera showing the greatest gall diversity were Copaifera L. (n=6) (Leguminosae-Detarioideae), Croton L. (n=2) (Euphorbiaceae), Mimosa L. (n=2) (Leguminosae-Caesalpinioideae), Byrsonima Rich. ex Kunth (n=2) (Malpighiaceae), and Eugenia L. (n=2) (Myrtaceae). The super-host species was Copaifera sabulicola J.A.S. Costa & L.P. Queiroz (n= 5). Most galls occurred on leaves, being globoid, glabrous, isolated, and unilocular. Most gall-inducing insect species belong to the Cecidomyiidae family, while the associated fauna was represented by Hymenoptera and Lepidoptera. We recorded here for the first time galls on Ocotea velutina (Mart. ex Ness) Rohwer (Lauraceae) and Miconia alborufescens Naudin (Melastomataceae). The results indicate the need for more studies to understand the dynamics of the insect-induced galls in Rupestrian field.

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The insect gall collection of the Museu Nacional/Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro: biome cerrado, rupestrian fields

Brazilian Journal of Biology ◽

10.1590/1519-6984.28012 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 74 (3 suppl 1) ◽

pp. S207-S217

Author(s):

VC Maia ◽

AR Rodrigues ◽

SHS Ascendino ◽

M Boggi

Keyword(s):

Host Plant ◽

Plant Species ◽

Rio De Janeiro ◽

Host Plants ◽

Brazilian Cerrado ◽

Insect Galls ◽

Plant Organ ◽

Rupestrian Fields ◽

Insect Gall ◽

Vegetation Physiognomy

An inventory of the insect gall from Brazilian savanna (Cerrado) was elaborated based on samples of the collection of the Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Data on localities and host plants were obtained from the labels and information about the gall morphology (plant organ of occurrence, shape, and presence of trichomes) by observing the samples. The galling species was determined based on the literature. The collection includes 131 morphotypes of galls from Cerrado, obtained from 71 host plant species distributed in 50 genera and 30 botanical families (Table 1). All galls were collected in rupestrian fields (a rare vegetation physiognomy of the Brazilian Cerrado) in the state of Minas Gerais. As the collection comprises a great diversity of insect galls, it can be considered representative of this physiognomy.

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Insect galls of Restinga de Marambaia (Barra de Guaratiba, Rio de Janeiro, RJ)

Brazilian Journal of Biology ◽

10.1590/1519-6984.05314 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 76 (3) ◽

pp. 787-795 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

V. C. Maia ◽

L. O. Silva

Keyword(s):

Plant Species ◽

Rio De Janeiro ◽

Insect Galls ◽

Gall Midges ◽

Plant Families ◽

Galling Insects

Abstract Thirty-one morphotypes of insect galls and two flower damages were found on 16 families, 22 genera and 24 plant species in Restinga de Marambaia (Barra de Guaratiba, Rio de Janeiro, RJ). Fabaceae and Myrtaceae were the plant families with the greatest richness of insect galls (4 and 6 morphotypes, respectively), and the greatest number of galled plants (four and three species, respectively). Galls were mostly found on leaves and stems (77% and 10%, respectively). The galling insects are represented by Diptera, Lepidoptera, and Hemiptera. The majority of the galls (81%) were induced by gall midges (Cecidomyiidae: Diptera).

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Occurrence and spread of Ceroplastes cirripediformis Comstock (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Coccidae) in India

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.5039.4.7 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5039 (4) ◽

pp. 561-570

Author(s):

SUNIL JOSHI ◽

HASEENA BHASKAR ◽

V.S. AASHIQ POON ◽

B.R. JAYANTHI MALA ◽

P.D. KAMALA JAYANTHI ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Host Range ◽

Natural Enemies ◽

Scale Insect ◽

Indian Species ◽

Broad Host Range ◽

Management Options ◽

Soft Scale ◽

Plant Pest ◽

Plant Families ◽

First Time

The notoriously destructive and invasive soft scale, Ceroplastes cirripediformis Comstock (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Coccidae), is recorded for the first time from India. The scale is redescribed to facilitate its identification and information on its host range, natural enemies and distribution is provided. An identification key to the Indian species in this genus is given. Management options in the event of an outbreak are discussed briefly. The establishment of this scale insect warrants special attention in India as it is a potentially damaging plant pest and has a broad host range across many plant families.

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