Description of the Pupa and Redescription of the Imagines of Geyeria decussata and their Association with Bromeliads in Southern Brazil (Lepidoptera: Castniidae)

ALBERTONI F F [Fed Univ, Florianopolis, Brazil], MORAES S S [Mus Zool USP, Sao Paulo, Brazil], STEINER J [Fed Univ. Florianopolis, Brazil] & ZILLIKENS A [Univ Tubingen, Germany]: Description of the Pupa and Redescription of the Imagines of Geyeria decussata and their Association with Bromeliads in Southern Brazil (Lepidoptera: Castniidae). - Entomol Gener 34 (1-2): 061-074: Stuttgart 2012-09. - [Article] Bromeliads can serve as a resource for numerous arthropods, especially insects. Caterpillars of the moth Geyeria decussata (Godart 1824) were recorded in the leaf rosettes of the bromeliads Wittrockia superba, Vriesea philippocoburgii and Aechmea nudicaulis. The larvae were feeding on the leaf bases, eventually killing the plants. In addition to life history data a description of the pupa and a re-description of the imagines are provided here. These findings constitute new records of larval hosts for this species and confirm a close association of castniid moths and bromeliads.

Movement of Heterorhabditis amazonensis and Steinernema arenarium in search of corn fall armyworm larvae in artificial conditions

Spodoptera frugiperda (Smith, 1797) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is considered to be the main pest of maize crops in Brazil. Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN) may be used to control this pest and exhibit different, unique abilities to search for their hosts. The movement of EPN in relation to S. frugiperda was evaluated. To test for horizontal movement, a styrofoam enclosure filled with sand was divided into segments, nematodes were placed at the entrance to the enclosure and a larva was placed at the end of each division. The same approach was used to evaluate vertical movement; however, PVC pipes were used in this case. In general, the mortality was inversely proportional to the initial distance between host and nematodes. In the vertical displacement test, both nematodes were able to kill the larvae up to a distance of 25 cm. Therefore, the infective juveniles of H. amazonensis and S. arenarium can search out, infect and kill larvae of S. frugiperda at distances of up to 60 cm and 25 cm of horizontal and vertical displacement, respectively.