Aethalion reticulatum (Hemiptera: Aethalionidae) feeding on Erythrina speciosa (Fabales: Fabaceae): first record of its host plant and damage characteristics

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Assessment of the relationship between entomologic indicators of Aedes aegypti and the epidemic occurrence of dengue virus 3 in a susceptible population, São José do Rio Preto, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Foundress association in the paper wasp Polistes simillimus (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Morphological caste studies in the neotropical swarm-founding polistinae wasp Angiopolybia pattern (Lepeletier) (hymenoptera: Vespidae)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in vineyards that are infested or uninfested with Eurhizococcus brasiliensis (Hemiptera: Margarodidae) in Southeastern Brazil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

A new species and notes on Perlidae (Plecoptera) from Paraná and Santa Catarina States, southern Brazil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

A revolução em assuntos militares no contexto da Guerra de Secessão Americana (1861-1865)

Pós-graduação em História - FCHS

LIFE TABLE ANALYSIS OF DIAPHORINA CITRI (HEMIPTERA: PSYLLIDAE) INFESTING SWEET ORANGE (CITRUS SINENSIS) IN SAO PAULO

An ecological life table for eggs and nymphs of Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) was constructed with data obtained from orange orchards (Citrus sinensis Osbeck) in 2 regions of the State of Sao Paulo, over 4 generations in the period from XI-2006 to V-2007, comprising spring, summer, and fall seasons. Young growing shoots with D. citri eggs present were identified, and live individuals were counted until adult emergence. No predatory arthropods were observed in association with D. citri eggs and nymphs during the study. The mean parasitism of fourth- and fifth-instar nymphs by Tamarixia radiata Waterston (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) was 2.3%. The durations of the egg-adult period were similar among the 4 generations, ranging from 18.0 to 24.7 d (at mean temperatures ranging from 21.6 to 26.0 degrees C) and followed the temperature requirement models obtained in the laboratory for D. citri. However, survival from the egg to the adult stage for the same period varied considerably from 1.7 to 21.4%; the highest mortalities were observed in the egg and small nymphal (first- to thirdinstar) stages, which were considered to be key phases for population growth of the pest.

Application of Microsatellite Primers Developed for Polistes in the Independent-Founding Wasp Polists satan Bequaert (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)

Microsatellite primers developed for a given species are sometimes useful for another in the same genus and in other genera within the same family, making possible to search for pre-existing suitable primers in the databanks such as GenBank. We examined whether existing primers developed for Polistes could be used for Polistes satan Bequaert. We tested 50 microsatellite primers from three Polistes species and found that six microsatellite loci show polymorphism in size in P. satan. These six loci were highly polymorphic, having four to 15 alleles in P. satan with an expected heterozygosity of 0.525-0.832. These loci can be used to study parameters concerning genetic relatedness such as social interactions in colonies and genetic conflicts of interest among nestmate individuals.

Genetic variability and demographic history of Heliothis virescens (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) populations from Brazil inferred by mtDNA sequences

Intra-and inter-population genetic variability and the demographic history of Heliothis virescens (F.) populations were evaluated by using mtDNA markers (coxI, coxII and nad6) with samples from the major cotton-and soybean-producing regions in Brazil in the growing seasons 2007/08, 2008/09 and 2009/10. AMOVA indicated low and non-significant genetic structure, regardless of geographical scale, growing season or crop, with most of genetic variation occurring within populations. Clustering analyzes also indicated low genetic differentiation. The haplotype network obtained with combined datasets resulted in 35 haplotypes, with 28 exclusive occurrences, four of them sampled only from soybean fields. The minimum spanning network showed star-shaped structures typical of populations that underwent a recent demographic expansion. The recent expansion was supported by other demographic analyzes, such as the Bayesian skyline plot, the unimodal distribution of paired differences among mitochondrial sequences, and negative and significant values of neutrality tests for the Tajima's D and Fu's F-S parameters. In addition, high values of haplotype diversity ((H) over cap) and low values of nucleotide diversity (pi), combined with a high number of low frequency haplotypes and values of theta(pi)<theta(W), suggested a recent demographic expansion of H. virescens populations in Brazil. This demographic event could be responsible for the low genetic structure currently found; however, haplotypes present uniquely at the same geographic regions and from one specific host plant suggest an initial differentiation among H. virescens populations within Brazil.

The burden of dengue: Jundiai, Brazil - January 2010

Objective: To study the antibody prevalence against dengue in the municipality of Jundiai, Sao Paulo, Brazil, due to the low number of official confirmed autochthonous cases. Methods: A serological study on dengue infection was conducted during January 2010 and previous reports on dengue and entomological surveillance during that period were reviewed. Results: A prevalence of 7.8% IgG positive (68:876) was found. Furthermore, based on the detection of IgM antibodies in five samples, it was observed that the incidence of dengue in the city at the time of the survey contrasts with the absence of notifications by local health authorities over the same period of time. Conclusion: These results highlight the discrepancies between the actual and the detected number of dengue infections, possibly due to significant numbers of asymptomatic infections aggravated by difficulties with dengue clinical diagnosis.

Parasitism by Ixodiphagus Wasps (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) in Rhipicephalus sanguineus and Amblyomma Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) in Three Regions of Brazil

Hymenopteran parasitoids have been shown to be of potential value in tick biocontrol. Tick parasitoids has been reported only once in Brazil, over 95 yr ago when Ixodiphagus hookeri (Howard) was reported parasitizing Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Latreille) nymphs in Rio de Janeiro. Herein, we report the occurrence of Ixodiphagus spp. in ticks from three different regions of Brazil. In the state of Maranhao, in northeastern Brazil, parasitoids were detected in R. sanguineus nymphs on three occasions, during August 2009 and September 2010 (dry season), and January 2011 (rainy season). All parasitoids found in northeastern Brazil were identified as I. hookeri. In the state of Mato Grosso do Sul (westDcentral Brazil), one Amblyomma sp. engorged nymph was shown to be parasitized by I. hookeri. In the state of Rondonia (northern Brazil), one Amblyomma sp. engorged nymph was parasitized by Ixodiphagus texanus (Howard). Because Ixodiphagus spp. are present in ecologically distinct and geographically distant areas of Brazil, they are of potential use for biocontrol in the country.

Insecticidal Activity of the Granulosis Virus in Combination with Neem Products and Talc Powder Against the Potato Tuberworm Phthorimaea operculella (Zeller) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae)

The potato tuberworm Phthorimaea operculella (Zeller) is an important agricultural pest that causes significant economic losses to potato growers worldwide. The addition of an effective method of biological control for the potato tuberworm is greatly needed, and is currently unavailable in Brazil. The granulosis virus (Baculoviridae) is a promising biological control agent to protect post-harvest potatoes and in storage from the potato tuberworm. However, the control measure must be economically feasible. Liquid suspensions of a granulosis virus applied alone or in mixture with two commercial neem oil-based products (DalNeem (TM) and NeemAzal (TM)), and a dry powder formulation of viral granules were evaluated for control of potato tuberworm larvae by treating potato tubers under laboratory conditions. High larval mortality (86.7%) was achieved when DalNeem and virus were applied together at 4 mg of azadirachtin/L and 10(4) occlusion bodies (OBs)/mL, respectively. This combination resulted in a parts per thousand yen50% efficacy in relation to their counterparts alone. Conversely, NeemAzal did not enhance virus effectiveness against larvae of the potato tuberworm. The talc-based virus formulation was used for dusting seed tubers at different concentrations and resulted in 100% larval mortality at 5 x 10(8) OBs/g. Formulated and unformulated virus provided 50% mortality at 166 OBs/g and at 5.0 x 10(5) OBs/mL, respectively. As a result, talc-based virus formulation had a better control efficiency on potato tuberworm than the aqueous virus suspension. The granulosis virus combined with DalNeem at low rates or formulated with talc powder is a viable option to control the potato tuberworm under storage conditions.

Trichogramma pretiosum parasitism and dispersal capacity: a basis for developing biological control programs for soybean caterpillars

In order to succeed in biological control programs, not only is it crucial to understand the number of natural enemies to be released but also on how many sites per area this releasing must be performed. These variables might differ deeply among egg parasitoid species and crops worked. Therefore, these trials were carried out to evaluate the parasitism (%) in eggs of Anticarsia gemmatalis and Pseudoplusia includens after the release of different densities of the egg parasitoid Trichogramma pretiosum. Field dispersal was also studied, in order to determine appropriate recommendations for the release of this parasitoid in soybean fields. The regression analysis between parasitism (%) and densities of the parasitoid indicated a quadratic effect for both A. gemmatalis and P. includens. The maximum parasitism within 24 h after the release was reached with densities of 25.6 and 51.2 parasitoids per host egg, respectively, for the two pests. Parasitism of T. pretiosum in eggs of P. includens decreased linearly as the distance of the pest eggs from the parasitoid release sites increased. For P. includens, the mean radius of T. pretiosum action and the area of parasitoid dispersal in the soybean crop were 8.01 m and 85.18 m(2), respectively. We conclude that for a successful biological control program of lepidopteran pests using T. pretiosum in soybean fields, a density of 25.6 parasitoids per host egg, divided into 117 sites per hectare, should be used.

Aspisoma lineatum (Gyllenhal) (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) Firefly: Description of the Immatures, Biological, and Ecological Aspects

(Gyllenhal) is a common firefly in the Southeastern region of Brazil. Adults and larvae were collected in the municipality of Campinas, state of So Paulo, Brazil, and the immature stages were described and reared in the laboratory. Four generations were reproduced in the laboratory, and a method for its rearing was established. The life cycle usually lasts 6 months, but under optimal laboratory conditions, it lasted from 2 to 4 months. Larvae were fed with and snails since the beginning of the larval stage. This species was found to be easily adapted to environments under anthropic influence, such as urban areas and farms.