Toxicity and repellency of essential oils to Zabrotes subfasciatus (Boheman) (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Bruchinae) in Phaseolus vulgaris L

The effects of tangerine (Phaseolus vulgaris Blanco), lemon (Citrus medica limonum Lush), pear orange (Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck), red copaiba (Copaifera langsdorffii Desf.), rosemary (Baccharis dracunculifolia De Candole), Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus Labillardière and E. citriodora Hook), lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus Stapf.) and citronella (Cimbopogon nardus Linnaeus) oils at several concentrations on Zabrotes subfasciatus (Boheman) were studied. In toxicity tests, grains of Phaseolus vulgaris L. cv. Rajadinho were impregnated with oils and infested with adults of Z. subfasciatus up to 24 hours old. All tested oils were effective in reducing the viable egg-laying and adult emergence of this pest, in function of the concentrations used, highlighting E. citriodora and E. globulus oils which caused 100% effectiveness from 0.5 mL Kg-1 concentration. In repellency tests, two arenas consisting of plastic containers, connected symmetrically to a central box by two plastic tubes were used. In one of the boxes, untreated beans were placed and on the other ones beans treated with each oil concentration were used. In the central box, five couples of Z. subfasciatus were released. Grains of P. vulgaris treated with oils of E. citriodora, C. citratus and C. oleifera reduced the attraction percentage of Z. subfasciatus adults, while the E. globulus increased this percentage. The percentages of reduced viable eggs ranged from 17.9% (C. medica limonum) to 93.3% (C. nardus), while the reduction on the number of emerged insects was 23.9% and 95.9%, respectively for these same oils.

Desenvolvimento inicial e estado nutricional de clones de eucalipto no nordeste do Pará

O objetivo desta pesquisa foi avaliar o desenvolvimento inicial, nutrição e fertilidade do solo em plantio de clones de eucalipto no nordeste do Pará. Os tratamentos constaram de cinco clones (Eucalyptus grandis x E. urophylla - 03 e 09, E. urophylla x E. camaldulensis - 32, E. grandis x E. pellita - 07 e E. camaldulensis - 11), dispostos em delineamento de blocos ao acaso com quatro repetições. Cinco meses após plantio foram avaliadas a altura e sobrevivência das plantas. Aos 18 meses, além dessas variáveis, foram avaliados o diâmetro à altura do peito (DAP), a fertilidade do solo (profundidades 0-10 e 10-20 cm) e os nutrientes foliares. A altura e o DAP das árvores não variaram entre clones nas épocas de avaliação. Houve diferença na porcentagem de sobrevivência apenas aos 18 meses, sendo do clone 07 a menor média apresentada. Na camada de 0-10 cm foram observados os menores valores de K trocável no solo sob os clones 09 e 07, nas parcelas deste último foram observado também a menor CTC. Na camada de 10-20 cm, o menor valor de N no solo esteve sob o clone 32, enquanto que o K e Ca trocáveis foram encontrados em maiores quantidades sob o clone 03. De maneira geral, foram observadas as maiores concentrações de todos os nutrientes, com exceção do N, nas folhas dos clones 11 e 32. Desta forma, os clones apresentaram respostas nutricionais diferentes na área de estudo, assim como o solo sob cada material genético apresentou valores variados de fertilidade. Essas variações, entretanto, pouco foram observadas no desenvolvimento inicial das árvores.

Rotary peeling yield of Schizolobium amazonicum (Leguminosae - Caesalpinioideae)

The tropical tree Schizolobium amazonicum is native from the Amazonian forest, naturally occurring in Brazil, Peru and Colombia. This work aimed to study the veneer yield made from this species. For this purpose, 50 logs from S. amazonicum were rotary peeled in a plywood industry installed in Brazilian Amazon region. The results indicated that S. amazonicum had a peeling yield similar or even higher than those usually obtained for species traditionally used for this purpose in Brazil, like those of Pinus and Eucalyptus. It was also observed that the dendrometric parameters of the log can be used to estimate the peeling yield in this species.

Organic load of substrata for wastewater treatment constructed wetlands

In Portugal the use of Constructed Wetlands (CW) for wastewater treatment has been increasing. However a number of these facilities need new strategies to achieve better efficiency. Keeping the culms of reeds on the CW beds not always results as desired, but the use of widely available agro-forest wastes, may be suitable as CW support matrix. This study was performed at lab-scale with dried culms of Phragmites and eucalyptus bark maintained in tap water, to assess them as CW substrata. With a 7 days residence time in water, Phragmites culms added a high organic load (about 400 mg L-1 BOD5) to the medium, while the eucalyptus bark added only, about 60 mg L-1 BOD5. However, by lixiviation, the organic load decreased to about 25 mg L-1 BOD5 in 5 weeks. With the organic load reduction of the leachate water, its surface tension increased, approaching the surface tension of tap water.

Ocorrência do órgão cupuliforme com bordos pelífenos, no colo dos "seedlings" de algumas Myrtaceae

After verifing the presence of the cupuliform organ on the seedlings from 105 species of Eucalyptus (ACCORSI, 1955-56), the author concluded that it is a morphological characteristic of the genus, which is peculiar to the plants only in first stages of their life. In this paper, the author resumes his study carried out on 20 species of Myrtaceae, distributed among 13 genus and he could certify, until now, that, in relation to the cupuliform organ, they may divided in three groups: 1.° Group - Without cupuliform organ 1. Campomanesia aurea Berg 2. Eugenia campestris DC. 3. Eugenia tomentosa Camb. 4. Eugenia uniflora L. 5. Myrciaria edulis Berg 6. Myrciaria trunciflora Berg 7. Pitangueira-gigante - As it was difficulty to identify this species, I use its common name. 2.° Group - With rudiment of cupuli orm organ 1. Eugenia uvalha Camb. 2. Jambosa vulgaris DC. 3. Myrciaria cauliflora Berg 3.° Group - With full cupuliform organ 1. Amomyrtus luma (Mol) Legr. et Kaus. 2. Blepharocalyx angustifolius Berg 3. Britoa acida Berg 4. Callistemon speciosus DC. o. Callistemon viminalis Cheel. 6. Feijoa sellowiana Berg 7. Myrceugenia glaucescens (Camb.) Legrand 8. Myrrhinium rubriflorum Berg 9. Psidium guayava Raddi 10. Psidium littorale Raddi During his observations, he could identify also in many, seeds an "operculum", further observations about it will be published opportunely.

Anatomia, dos nectános de algumas espécies da flora apícola

This paper deals with anatomical descriptions of some types of nectaries in 27 species of honey plants of Piracicaba, S. P. The material studied was divides in two groups: a) Extra-floral nectaries; b) Floral nectaries. Euphorbia pulcherrima, Willd; showed to belonging to the first group: its nectaries tissue consist of an epidermal layer of cell without stomata and with true gland, with subepidermal cells diferentiated by the thickness of the wall. Among the plants with floral nectaries, the following types has been listed, according the location of the nectary in the flower: 1 - with true glands: a) in sepals, Hibiscus rosa sinensis, L.; Dombeya Wallichii, Bth. e Hk; b) in the stamens tube, Antigonum leptopus, Hook e Arn.; 2 - on the receptacle with nectariferous tissue in the epidermal cell with: a) thickness wall with stomata, Prunus persical, L.; b) thin wall without stomata, Crotalaria paulinia, Shranck; Caesal-pinia sepiaria, Roxb; Aberia caffra; 3 - with a disc located in the receptacle with: epidermal: a) with stomata, Coffea arábica, L. var. semper florens; Citrus aurantifolia, Swing; Cinchona sp.; Pryrostegia ignea, Presl.; b) without stomata and with thin wall, Leojurus sibiricus, L.; Bactocydia unguis, Mart., Ipomoea purpurea, L.; Greviüea Thelemanniana, Hueg.; Dolichos lablab, L.; Vernonia polyanthes, Less., Montanoa bipinatifida, C. Koch., Eruca sativa, L. Brassica Juncea, Co; Eucalyptus tereticomis, Smith.; Eucalyptus rostrata, Schleche; Salvia splendens, Selow.; 4 - in the basal tissues of the ovary, Budleia brasiliensis, Jacq F.; Petrea subserrata, Cham.; 5 - in the base of stamens, Per sea americana, Mill. On the anatomical point of view, most of the types of nectary studied has external nectariferous tissues, located on the epidermal cells with thin periclinal wall and without stomata. The sub-epidermal layer were rich in sugar. Short correlation was found between the structure of the nectary and the amount of nectar secretion. So, in the nectary with true glands, in those with thin wall and without stomata on epidermal cells and in those with stomata, the secretion was higher than in the other types listed.

Contribuição para. o conhecimento da "saúva de vidro" Atta laevigata Fred. Smith, 1858

In 1961, field investigations on "saúva de vidro" (parasol ant, Atta laevigata (Fred. Smith, 1858) were carried out at Piracicaba and other regions of the State of São Paulo (Brazil). This species was found to be a serious pest of cultivated plants, specially Eucalyptus and cotton. The ant makes its colony in any kind of soil, but it prefers to live in the poor ones.

Avaliação do período de florescimento das plantas apícolas no ano de 1960, através do polem contido nos méis e dos coletados pelas abelhas (Apis Mellifera L.)

Neste trabalho apresentamos os resultados da análise polínica de 11 amostras de mel e de polem coletados pelas abelhas Apis mellifera L., durante o período de março de 1960, no Apiário da Escola Superior de Agricultura "Luiz de Queiroz". Através dessa análise, pudemos comprovar e identificar como plantas nectaríferas e poliníferas as seguintes espécies: Eucalyptus sp., Dombeya sp., Agave sisalana, Vernonia sp., Montanoa bipinnatificada, Persea americana, Baccharis sp.. Citrus sp., e como plantas poliníferas as que seguem: Bidens piíosus, Cosmus sulphureus, Pirostegia venusta, Mel-linis minutiflora. Pudemos, assim, avaliar de modo indireto o período de florescimento das plantas apícolas nos arredores do apiário da Escola e comparar essa avaliação com as observações diretas de KERR & AMARAL (196°) sobre o período de florescimentos das plantas apícolas no planalto Paulista. Daí podermos afirmar ser a análise polínica dos méis e a análise dos polens coletados pelas abelhas um método prático de valor para estudos de fenologia das plantas apícolas. Poderemos assim aplicar a análise polínica em nossos futuros estudos sobre a fenologia das plantas apícolas em diferentes regiões do Estado de São Paulo.

Diferenças entre as dimensões das fibras nos anéis de crescimento determinados no D. A. P. e em níveis diferentes do fuste de árvores adultas de Eucaliptus saligna Smith

Neste trabalho apresentamos os resultados dos estudos das diferenças entre as dimensões (comprimento, diâmetro e espessura) das fibras lenhosas nos anéis de crescimento (da periferia ao centro do fuste), determinadas ao nível do D. A. P. (distância a altura do peito) e em diferentes níveis (10%, 20% e 30% da altura do fuste) de árvores adultas de Eucalyptus saligna Smith, tendo como objetivo verificar se em nossas condições, as amostras tomadas apenas no D. A. P. representam o fuste da árvore.

Aspects of the biology and behavior of Nesolynx sp. (Hymenoptera, Eulophidae)

This research was carried out to study some aspects of the biology and behavior of Nesolynx sp. (Hymenoptera, Eulophidae), a pupal parasite of Psorocampa denticulata (Lepidoptera, Notodontidae) a defoliating caterpillar of Eucalyptus spp. in Brazil. The adults emerge from the host pupa through a circular hole on Its dorsal region. Mating occurs righ after the emergence and the longevity of adults was two days for the males and four days for the females. Regarding to the host species Diatraea saccharalis showed a number of adults significantly greater than Galleria mellonella and the increasing temperature from 21±1 °C to 26±1°C caused a significative increasing in the number of emerged adults in both host species. The emergence of adults increased proportionally to the period of exposition to the host up to 3.50 days; after that, a considerable decrease in the emergence was observed. The parasitoid showed parthenogenetic reproduction therefore the average number of emerged males was significantly greater than the number of females. The sex ratio was similar for the insects emerged from virgin or mated females (0,96) and the life cycle lenght was around 18.34 days for both conditions.

Estrutura floral das angiospermas usadas por Heliconius erato phyllis (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae) no Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil

A field survey of flowering plants used as food resource by the adults of Heliconius erato phyllis (Fabricius, 1775) was carried out in four sites located in Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil. Samples were taken in preserved areas of the Atlantic Rain and Myrtaceae forests, an Eucalyptus plantation, and an urban park. Adult feeding frequencies on flowers were registered monthly from December 1996 to May 1997, on plants located on previously marked 200 m long transects. Flowers on which H. erato phyllis fed in the field were collected, drawn and morphometrically characterized. Feeding was registered on flowers of twenty-three species, of which seventeen are new records for H. erato in Brazil . The use of a given plant varied among localities, as a function of its corresponding abundance. The most visited flowers were those of Lantana camara L. and Stachytarpheta cayennensis (Rich.) Vahl, followed by Dahliapinnata Voss in the urban site. The data suggest the existence of size and shape convergence between the proboscis and the small, tubular flowers upon which H. eratophyllis feeds. They also indicate that H. eratophyllis adults have an opportunistic nectar feeding / pollen gathering habit, using several of those flowers available in a given time and locality that fit such a morphometrical pattern. Since plant species of both primitive and derived families are used, there is no indication that phylogenetic constraints play a major role in this association, nor that color of flowers, growth pattern or size of the plants are relevant in determining their use by H. erato phyllis.

Comportamento alimentar e dieta de serpentes, gêneros Boiruna e Clelia (Serpentes, Colubridae)

Boiruna maculata Boulenger, 1896 and Clelia rustica (Cope, 1878) were observed in captivity feeding snakes and rodents, respectively. Both species have shown a similar procedure in relation to the prey. Major behavior differences among the two species were: rodents killed before being swallowed, and snakes were mostly swallowed alive; both species are able to find the rodents head faster than the snake one; the coils formed during constriction were also used to hold the prey, specially the last coil, while swallowing rodents. Informations on stomach contents was gathered by dissection of preserved specimens of Clelia clelia (Daudin, 1803) and C. plumbea (Wied, 1820) were also included in the dietary study. The majority of preys consisted on snakes and lizards. Other prey items were mammals and birds. Adult snakes prey relatively smaller animals than the juvenile snakes do.

Diversidade de insetos antófilos em áreas com reflorestamento de eucalipto, município de Triunfo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil

O efeito da fragmentação de habitats tem sido avaliado medindo-se a riqueza e diversidade de determinados grupos funcionais, especialmente insetos visitantes florais. Esses organismos possibilitam conectividade funcional entre plantações e áreas protegidas e a restauração de ambientes alterados. Este estudo objetivou analisar a diversidade de insetos antófilos ao longo de transectos estabelecidos entre mata ciliar e reflorestamento de eucaliptos e exclusivamente entre talhões de eucaliptos, no sul do Brasil. Os insetos coligidos pertencem às ordens Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Diptera, Coleoptera e Hemiptera. Comparativamente a outros estudos, a abundância de insetos foi baixa. Vinte e oito espécies foram encontradas em ambos ambientes, enquanto 138 foram exclusivas em um ambiente (61 em mata ciliar/eucaliptos e 77 em eucaliptos/eucaliptos). Os insetos visitaram flores de 31 espécies vegetais, representantes de 20 famílias. Nos dois ambientes foram encontradas poucas espécies dominantes e um grande número representadas por um único indivíduo. A alta diversidade foi similar nos dois ambientes de estudo (H' = 4,084 e H' = 4,018). Entre os insetos, as abelhas mostraram a maior diversidade nos ambientes mata ciliar/eucaliptos (H' = 3,211) e eucaliptos/eucaliptos (H' = 2,8). Considerando-se a similaridade na estrutura da comunidade entre os ambientes, a fauna de insetos antófilos difere quanto à composição de espécies e número de indivíduos das espécies amostradas.

Revisão de Pseudoparlatoria (Hemiptera, Diaspididae)

Revisou-se a taxonomia das espécies incluídas em Pseudoparlatoria Cockerell, 1892, através do exame das séries tipo, exemplares obtidos nas localidades-tipo e material disponível em coleções científicas. Foram redescritas: P. argentata Hempel, 1912; P. browni McKenzie, 1963; P. campinensis Lepage & Giannotti, 1946; P. carolilehmanni Balachowsky, 1959; P. caucae Balachowsky, 1959; P. circularis Lepage, 1942; P. constricta Fonseca, 1975; P. elongata Ferris, 1941; P. fuscaFerris, 1941; P. fusiformisFonseca, 1969; P. lentigo Ferris, 1942; P. maculata Ferris, 1942; P. noacki Cockerell, 1898; P. occultata (Hempel, 1937); P. ostreataCockerell, 1892; P. parlatorioides(Comstock, 1883); P. perparvula Ferris, 1942; P. pisai (Hempel, 1904); P. punctata Ferris, 1942; P. rossetae Fonseca, 1969; P. serrulata Townsend & Cockerell, 1898; P. subcircularis Balachowsky, 1959; P. tillandsiae Tippins, 1970; P. trimaculata Lepage & Giannotti, 1946; P. turgida Ferris, 1941. Duas novas combinações são estabelecidas, P. mammata(Ferris, 1941); P. sculpta (Ferris, 1941). Uma chave para identificação das espécies é apresentada.

Shifts in composition of avian communities related to temperate-grassland afforestation in southeastern South America

Afforestation of temperate grasslands with fast-growing trees for industrial pulpwood production is spreading in South America. Despite high afforestation rates resulting from governmental policies that stimulate pulpwood production in grasslands of southern Brazil and Uruguay, the impact of this activity on biodiversity remains to be properly assessed. We used an Impact-Reference study design to evaluate how grassland afforestation affects the composition of grassland bird assemblages. We sampled eucalyptus plantations and neighboring natural grasslands in southern Brazil from 2006-2009, and relied on nested sampling and analysis to separate the effects of afforestation from the natural variability of grasslands. We recorded a significant difference in composition between assemblages from grasslands and tree plantations. Species adapted to open, treeless areas tended to be negatively affected in relation to edge or forest birds in eucalyptus plantations. Afforestation is systematically replacing the bird assemblage of hilltop grasslands by a collection of common edge and forest species that occur in nearby riverine and hillside forests. Although most grassland birds negatively affected by tree plantations are common and widespread, observed and predicted afforestation rates in southeastern South America may result in regional population reductions in the near future.